The Days That Follow
by Toffee Pops are Great
Summary: They had woken up from the simulation, but coming to terms with their new reality is even harder than they imagined.
1. Rude Awakening

They stood in a small circle as the simulation collapsed around them.

"Hey, I'll never forget you guys, or the others! You guys better remember me too! My name is Kazuichi Soda!"

"Heh, with your colourful personalities, there's no way I'd forget you guys that easily!"

"Even if I forget… I will use all my might and remember!"

"If you start talkin' weird later Hajime, I'll beat you up till you turn back to normal!"

"That's a relief… but make sure you hold back as much as you can."

These people were so important to him. There was no way he could forget what's happened here. He was going to fix this, they all were.

"Thank you."

"Thank you, Chiaki.."

"Phew… I finally said it."

Suddenly, everything was gone, with nothing but a black void staring back. No sight, no sound, no feeling, just black. They started to panic, did something go wrong?

Hajime tried to calm himself down, he lay there in the void, although that may have not been an accurate description. Everything had been deleted, he no longer had an avatar which meant he had no being, no substance, which was a scary thought.

He could only think. Fortunately, he had a lot to think about. Was everything they told them the truth? Were they really Ultimate Despair? Was he really Izuru Kamukura? Would they ever be able to wake their friends up? But even if they could, even if everything worked out, there was still one person that was never coming back.

Chiaki.

Was she really just an AI, why would they make her the way they did. How was her narcolepsy helpful for their supposed therapy? Why did they make her the ultimate video gamer? Was that meant to be a subtle hint at what she was? That's so cruel. Why did they make her have the best fucking hoodie he had ever seen? Why was she pouty sometimes? Why was she so kind? So annoying and complex? Why did they make her so… real…

Was it a way to punish them? The original goal of the simulation was to strengthen their bond with one another and collect hope fragments, right? Then why was she apart of it, just to be ripped away from them at the end? The one he spent the most time with, the one he investigated with, laughed with, and most importantly - got the panties of. Why did it have to be the AI? He hated to say it, he grew so close to everyone in such a short time. But he became the closest to her. Chiaki. God, why Chiaki.

He had so many questions and no one to answer them. "How was she able to talk to me in the final trial?" He thought. "Was it all in my head? But if that's the case how was Monomi back in the final trial as well? I thought they were both deleted by Monokuma?" The tiniest bit of hope settled itself in his mind.

If they weren't deleted would there be a chance he could see her again? Even if she was just an AI. He wanted to see her one more time. See her smile one more time. That sad, defeated expression she had. The last time he knew he saw her for real. As she was being executed, he couldn't get it out of his head. That sad, defeated face. It was seared into his memory like a burn. That couldn't be his final memory of his friend. Not Chiaki, not her.

He realised now's not the time to be thinking about that. There are actual people's lives on the line, including his. Although it stung realising that he just admitted to Chiaki not being as important as the rest of them.

He actually felt rather determined considering the awful situation they were in. Maybe Chiaki could help him again acting like an end goal. After they saved everyone, he could work on getting her back. But that was extremely optimistic thinking, especially considering he had been stuck in this void for around 10 minutes now.

15 minutes passed,

then 20.

He was starting to get worried. If this was hell, he was staring it in the face. Not endless torture and suffering, just nothing. A complete lack of anything. He wondered how long he could stay like this before he went insane. No sound or sight, just his thoughts. He had nothing to do but mull over all these questions he had for eternity never being able to get an answer.

He guessed around 30 minutes had passed now. This was getting out of hand, he started wondering how the others were doing because this was really starting to get boring... Wait did he…

**DAY ONE**

Suddenly a new blackness was in front of him. A lighter one, slight variations in tone. It got closer and closer until he felt weight. His weight! He could hear a slight churning of machines and footsteps. He was awake, finally awake. Then he could…

Like a wave crashing over him, it all came back, the memories, the despair. The... oh god. He needed to escape. He opened his eyes and saw tinted green glass in front of him, he bashed it with closed fits as hard as he could, but it wouldn't budge. He was trapped. There was no space, he was too cramped, he was running out of air, he could barely breathe! He had to get out now.

'Please! Anyone? No this isn't happening. This isn't happening. Please, this is too much.'

"LET ME OUT!"

His voice box could only muster a raspy growl. The more he moved his body, the more it hurt. He could feel several needles struggling to keep attached to him as they prodded and poked his flesh.

Suddenly the glass lifted, as he lurched forward falling straight out of the pod and on to the hard-tiled floor, bringing various cords and wires with him. He landed straight on his head and fell onto his stomach. Now that the pain was the main thing he focused on he finally started to calm down. Not only did his head hurt like hell but the wires he was attached to were biting into his flesh desperately trying to pull him back into the darkness of the pod.

He could feel tears starting to run down his face. It really hurt, it really really hurt. He couldn't think straight. Nothing but pain flowing through his entire body like boiling water. Until, like being broke out of a trance, he heard a yelp and thud across the room.

A skinny figure emerged from the pod just as roughly as he had. They were lying on their side. Thick, blonde, tangled hair covered their face, as they began coughing violently. He could see their ribcage emerging from their skin with every cough, no muscle or fat stopping it from being exposed. Like it was trying to escape its host. Legs that looked like they would crumble if any weight were put on them. And scars, so many scars. Cuts, bruises, and burns could be seen across their body. Although he realised he saw a pattern of them rising from their feet, up their calf and thigh, onto their waist. Those were no accident, they were inflicted.

Hajime wondered if he looked anything like that, he went to look down at himself but his vast cast of black hair covered most of his body, and he could only see his pale feet with long dirty nails.

He heard the figure starting to hack and choke. Suddenly throwing up some kind of blue gel and bile that sprayed across the ground, with a lot of it drenching their hair as well. The figure then recoiled from it, rolling over to their other side tangling themselves in wires and cords. They let out a cry of agony and began uncontrollably sobbing. Weeping from the pain, from disgust? He wasn't sure, probably a mix of both. He tried to call out to the figure - nothing but a sore groan came from his mouth. Thinking back, he realised he had not spoken in a long time. He tried to recall the last time, thinking back there was; the simulation, the island, the void and...

Before he could continue that thought the figure across from him stopped sobbing violently and began to hyperventilate. Looking across to them he realised they were even more tangled in the wires and cords than before. They must have tried to get free of them but ended up furthering the problem. It was like a cocoon of webbing strangling around the figure, unable to escape the now frayed cords and crushed wires.

The hyperventilating continued as they gasped for oxygen. He had to help them. He tried calling out to them again, nothing but a low-pitched moan came out. He lowered himself to the ground trying to crawl towards the figure to help. The cords tugged at his skin trying to pull him back as he slowly made his way towards them. Some snapping off his body when they reached their limit. Eventually, he got to his, he couldn't go any further. The trapped figure was still a good few feet from him. He held out his arm towards them slapping it down on the ground as hard as he could trying to get their attention, making a loud 'thud' as it hit the tiling.

The figure jumped slightly at the sudden loud noise. They awkwardly twisted their neck trying to see the source of the sound. They managed to free an arm from the grasp of the cords and cleared the tangled mess of hair from out of their face, finally they could see each other.

He recognised them. Their face was far gaunter and sicklier than what he remembered, but there was no way he could mistake those big blue eyes for anyone else.

"Sonia!" Hajime futilely tried to say, only for his voice box to refuse. Another low-pitched moan escaping his throat instead as they looked at each other.

Sonia then extended her arm as close to Hajime as she possibly could placing the back of her hand against the floor with her palm facing upwards. Hajime tried to reach across but couldn't reach her hand. He had to reach her, he had to. He didn't want to be alone, he didn't want to go through this alone. It hurt, it hurt so much, and this was the only person in the entire world who knew the pain he was going through. He lurched forward with all his might yanking a couple more wires off his neck and back finally being able to reach her. He grabbed her hand as tightly as he could, as she squeezed back in confirmation.

Sonia started to breathe normally again as they stared at each other. Unable to speak, even if they could, what could they possibly say? Their eyes said it all. Tears streamed down Sonia's face as they looked helplessly at each other.

20 minutes passed.

20 minutes of agony. Of writhing in pain as the cords attached to them refused to let them go.

He felt so helpless.

His friend.

A friend he cared so much for, was suffering and he couldn't help her. All he could do was solemnly stare back at her and squeeze her hand tighter as a small fraction of comfort.

Hajime heard some footsteps in a room next door. A hallway? He didn't try to yell this time and instantly started looking around the room for something to make noise with. He could hear the footsteps passing the room now. He had to do something quickly or else they might get too far away to hear him. He didn't know what around him could make enough sound. Realising he was out of time, he did his best to flail on the ground, slapping the floor with as much force as he could muster. Sonia, understanding what he was trying to achieve, let go of his hand and began hitting the ground with him.

Hajime kept going for another half minute, but it was no use. He looked over to Sonia who continued to slap the ground with a desperate pleading on her face. He could see her wince in pain with every hit. She was far more tangled in wires than he was and realised that the simple movement of her moving her free arm up and down must have been tugging at wires across her body.

'Why am I so weak?...' Thought Hajime.

That's why he agreed to the procedure in the first place. He didn't want to be ordinary; he wanted to be an ultimate, like them. He wanted to be strong.

But there he was, slapping the ground and crying, like a toddler having a tantrum. Desperately trying to get the attention of someone else to help them.

He grabbed Sonia's hand in mid-air just as she was readying for another slap on the ground. The look of defeat on his face must have said it all because she stopped fighting and gave in just like he did. He grabbed on to her now swollen hand as hard as he could hoping rescue would come eventually.

Another 10 minutes passed.

He couldn't take this anymore. He couldn't bear seeing her like this anymore. This once dignified and royal princess writhing in pain on the ground like a dying animal and he was right there with her, unable to do anything.

'DAMMIT!' He furiously clenched his teeth.

'Haven't we been through enough? Watching our friends kill each other in a killing game wasn't enough? Years of despair wasn't enough? How much suffering do we have to do before it would finally end?'

She didn't deserve this. Thinking about it he had only known Sonia briefly in the simulation, but it felt like he couldn't live without her in his life now. She was always so kind and caring, always believing in the best of people. That's what her true nature was like. He didn't care what she did while she was despair, he could only guess similar things to what he did. That wasn't her, that wasn't them.

He tried to keep those memories at bay, bits, and pieces of his life as Izuru Kamukura managing to claw into his mind still. That overwhelming despair he felt, that boredom.

He felt useless lying on the ground doing nothing, actually... It was rather boring.

Wait boring.

Boring.

Boring..

This was so boring.

Crying in pain on the ground, like a child, how predictable.

Although she was predictable in her own way, with despair being her only goal, at least she tried to keep things interesting for him.

He could appreciate her attempt at the very least, even if it was a failed one.

Chiaki Nanami, the contradiction. The one thing that didn't make sense to him.

Was it really just Hajime Hinata's memories seeping through into him?

Is that why he mourned her death?

Impossible.

Therefore, he played this game. Enoshima's favourite game.

The killing game.

To see which side would win.

Hope or Despair.

Which one was more unpredictable?

While they made it out of the simulation, he didn't believe a verdict had been decided yet.

And currently lying on the ground in pain was doing nothing to help achieve a conclusion to that question.

It was time to get up.

It was time for the battle to continue.

He shook the figure's grip off his hand and reached behind him.

He grabbed lose wires that fell off his body during his other half's struggle out of the pod.

He yanked them out of the machine and wound them into a ball.

He threw the ball across the room landing on some kind of alarm switch.

He could hear the loud blaring of sirens go off across the building.

It shouldn't be long now until someone found him.

Let the next chapter of this war begin.

And just as quickly as he came, he left.

'What the fuck? What the fuck was that!' Hajime panicked.

He wasn't in control, Kamukura just was. He was just a viewer watching from his own head. Unable to influence a single thing he did.

'Did he have dominion over my body? My body? MY OWN FUCKING BODY!'

He was a prisoner in his own skin. He started hyperventilating. He realised he was having a panic attack, but the realisation of it didn't help. His thoughts were racing.

'FUCK, FUCK, OH GOD WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!

SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME.

I DON'T WANT THIS ANYMORE!

I DON'T!

I…'

His hand was suddenly being squeezed by Sonia again. He went to staring back at her. Her eyes were full of sympathy. She mouthed the words "It's okay" before gripping his hand tighter.

Finally, they heard the door open to the room.

"Oh my god. They're awake!"

He couldn't turn his head far enough around to see who said that.

"Guys... GUYS! Get in here, quick!"

He heard two more people enter the room.

"What the hell happened Byakuya?! I thought you were meant to be watching them!"

"I know, but now's not the time to be bickering, Makoto grab three wire cutters from the cupboard against the wall there."

The voice sounded confident and calm, which pissed him off a bit.

"Kyoko attend to the princess and try to halt the bleeding as much as you can. I'll be right back with some medical supplies."

"Wait, bleeding?" A dark thought crossed his mind. He looked back toward Sonia, Kirigiri flipped her on to her stomach. Her back was covered in blood. Various wires were ripping into her skin and tearing her apart.

A new round of tears began forming in his eyes. She was dying. She was going to die. She looked even paler than before.

He was useless.

One of his best friends was dying, and he still couldn't help her. If Kamukura didn't take over, then she probably would have bled out. After everything, after surviving this long. She was going to bleed out on the floor after they thought they had finally been saved.

He shouted.

"SAVE HER!"

He realised he managed to get the words out, only just, but still.

"Please, save her…"

His voice was croaky and gravelly, but he could speak now.

Naegi ran over with the wire cutters and began pulling and cutting various wires still attached to Sonia's back and neck. Naegi looked at Hajime with a determined look on his face.

"I promise. And don't worry, you're up next once we have her stable."

"Am I not bleeding as badly?" He honestly couldn't tell if he was or not.

Kyoko looked over at him.

"A little hard to tell with that mane of hair in the way. But she's the priority right now, she'll bleed out before you do."

Hajime wrapped an arm around and felt up and down his back. There was some blood but nothing compared to her. She got tangled in the wires which probably caused a lot more damage than what was done to him. He squeezed her hand tighter. There was no way in hell he was going to lose her as well.

"It's okay" he whispered at her. The limited talking he already did seemed to be too much for his voice.

"Sonia, SONIA!" Kyoko grabbed her by the cheeks, squeezing her face and aiming it towards her.

"Stay with me okay, you need to stay awake."

Her eyes were glossed over, she was already starting to lose consciousness.

At that moment Togami raced back into the room with multiple first aid kits in hand and set them down on the floor.

"Makoto, grab the adrenaline," Kyoko shouted.

With a swift movement he grabbed the syringe and injected it into her thigh, she whimpered at the sudden shock.

"Byakuya I need you to apply pressure over here, Mac I need you to hold this closed."

He could see that they had her untangled from the wires. But it suddenly occurred to him. How was she attached to them, how were they both for a matter of fact?

Hajime felt his back. He couldn't grasp exactly how they were connected, only that they were, it didn't make sense.

"What the hell." He muttered.

He looked back towards Sonia. Togami was rummaging through the first aid kit. Kyoko seemed to be stitching various parts of her back, and Naegi was then bandaging over the parts she had already stitched up.

"Byakuya, quickly go check on him make sure he's not in any danger."

It seemed Kyoko had really taken charge of the situation.

Togami ran over and flipped Hajime's hair off his back and onto the floor next to him. He didn't realise just how much he had.

Kyoko suddenly spoke up again.

"Now it was Hajime Hinata, right? Listen I need you to keep her awake for me, keep talking to her, whatever you need to do."

He could see her wincing in pain with every stitch. He had to help her somehow. Most importantly he had to keep her awake. He didn't know exactly why but there was no way he was going to ask at a time like this.

He nodded and managed to hold onto her hand with both of his.

He whispered, "You're going to be alright Sonia, I promise. We're going to save everyone. This is all going to be a bad memory. I love you so so much, please hold on okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine. Toss me some wire cutters."

Sounds like Togami was done with his inspection. Now pulling and cutting away at the various wires that were still attached to him.

"Thank you, Hajime," Sonia whispered back. Her voice sounded normal enough considering the circumstances. She smiled back tremulously, before wincing in pain again.

Five minutes passed.

"Okay, she's looking good, considering. She'll be okay."

Taking one last look at her handy work, Kirigiri helped Naegi bandage the last of Sonia's wounds up.

"Alright, how are we going over here." She shuffled across to Hajime inspecting his wounds.

"I've almost got all the wires out, but his damnable hair keeps getting in the way."

"I'll grab some scissors" Makoto yelled making his way back to the cupboard.

'Sonia's okay, Sonia's going to be okay.' He thought to himself, breathing a sigh of much-needed relief. Sonia grabbed both of Hajime's hands with hers. Smiling softly.

He could see the look of relief and comfort on her face. It made him feel so much better.

Togami got the last of the wires announcing, "I'll leave the rest to you two, I need to report this back to our people and turn this godforsaken alarm off."

Kyoko and Naegi nodded in unison.

Togami got up and headed to the sink over in the corner of the room next to the cupboard, rinsing the worst of the blood off his arms. He went to leave, but just before exiting the room, he stood there for a second and adjusted his glasses.

"Welcome back to the real world." He then left in a hurry.

"Looks like you got lucky Hinata!" Naegi smiled warmly at him. "Only a few gashes and cuts, from the wires." Hajime returned an empty smile before turning back to face Sonia.

A couple of minutes passed before Kyoko finally announced that she was done, letting out a big sigh. Feeling no more pressure on his back from the wires or Kyoko. Hajime scuttled forward toward Sonia finally being able to embrace her.

They both sat up and wrapped their arms around one another. Careful not be put too much pressure on each other's backs. Hajime grabbed the back of her head and caressed her hair. It was sticky, oh yeah, she threw up on it.

"We made it." He said softly.

"Yes, we did. I am delighted to see you again Hajime. I'm so glad to see that you're yourself."

They both started crying again, it seemed to be endless at this point. They just wanted each other close. They leaned on one another to support each others weight, they could both tell just how weak the other was, and Sonia's blood loss wasn't doing her any favours either. They just sat there and cried together. They knew that when this embrace was over, they would have to go back to dealing with reality. They didn't want to, not just yet. So, they stayed together, just for a little longer.

Finally, they started separating leaning their foreheads on one another's as they got further apart. She kissed him multiple times on the cheek before finally separating. They couldn't put it off any longer.

Naegi and Kyoko were both sitting against the wall on the other side of the room, patiently waiting for whenever they were ready.

"So.." Hajime started. "What happened?"

They both looked away from him, unsure of how to answer.

At least that's what he thought.

"How about before that, we get you some clothes." Naegi shyly responded while scratching the back of his neck.

Hajime looked down realising that apart from the bandages covering their torsos they were completely naked. They both looked away from each other bright red in the face. Surprised they didn't realise sooner.

Kyoko fetched some clothing from the room next door. A simple white button up shirt, and bright blue shorts for Hajime. A white singlet and some black yoga pants for Sonia.

"This will have to do, for now, it's just some of our spare clothing." Waving her hand back and forth referencing herself and Naegi.

"Also…" She hesitated. "You'll have to do without underwear for now, sorry. We'll try to get proper clothes to you as soon as we can."

"This will do just fine!" Sonia said cheerfully, seemed she was happy with what they gave her, or at least didn't care.

'So this is Naegi's clothing huh?' Hajime thought to himself. 'A lot... brighter than I was expecting.'

They both got changed into their clothing while looking away from each other. Meanwhile, Kirigiri and Naegi washed off their arms and hands in the sink. Not quite feeling up to making the attempt of standing, they both got changed sitting down. Naegi's clothes were really tight on Hajime, he must be a size or two bigger than Naegi, but Kyoko's clothes seemed to fit Sonia well enough.

"Thanks," Hajime said cheeks still a little red with embarrassment. "So please, tell us what happened."

"Well" Naegi began, "after we shut down the simulation and got ourselves out of there we were waiting for you guys to wake up at any moment…"

"But we didn't," Sonia added.

"No" Kyoko continued. "We're not exactly sure what happened or why, but it took a lot longer than expected for you to wake up. Unfortunately, you two are the first, everyone else is still erm.… asleep."

The alarm finally stopped blaring to the relief of everyone.

"How long have we been asleep for then? That is after you shut down the simulation?" Hajime asked.

"It's been around two weeks." Naegi nervously replied.

"We were meant to have someone in here 24/7 waiting for you to wake up, but it seems Byakuya wasn't here during what was meant to be his shift." Naegi sighed.

"We've been temporarily living in the room next door waiting until you woke up," Kyoko added. "We can't apologise enough for what just happened to you. I'm presuming you both freaked out and tripped out of your pods."

They both looked at each other and nodded. Sonia then leaned on Hajime's shoulder to help support herself. She must have been getting tired from sitting up.

"Right, well as you might be able to guess, the pods aren't designed for you to do that. It's meant to be a slow process of it slowly detaching its wires from you." Naegi continued "It's complicated stuff, and I don't entirely understand it myself, but it attaches a bunch of wires across your body to stimulate muscles, track heart rate, blood flow, it keeps you from getting bed sores, exedra. It also has this crazy blue gel inside it that envelopes the rest of your body and.."

"The main point is" Kirigiri interrupted. "We were meant to have someone in here to warn you to let the pod do its thing. It needs about 20 minutes from when you wake up to being ready to let you out. We forgot to mention it while we were in the simulation. It was completely our fault, and we take full responsibility. Again, we are so sorry this happened to you both."

Sonia looked Kyoko dead in the eyes with a serious look on her face.

"Stop right there!" She exclaimed. "It is not your fault, it was just an unfortunate event. Nobody is to blame. In the end, you saved us from despair, the simulation and you just saved us again. We should be the ones apologising. You have done so much for us, asking nothing in return, we can never repay your kindness. Thank you." She bowed her head and grabbed the back of Hajime's to make him bow as well.

When he looked back up, he saw they both looked thoroughly surprised at what Sonia said. He was too. Just a few moments ago she was rolling around in agony on the floor close to bleeding to death, and she didn't even hesitate in forgiving them and moving past it.

'She truly is an incredible person' Hajime thought to himself.

Kyoko looked down and coughed. "Well, you're welcome. We appreciate your understanding. But we need to discuss what happens from here."

Hajime felt a shot of anxiety race up his spine. Why did that make him nervous? He wasn't exactly sure.

"Firstly, what memories do you both have? What can you remember?"

They both froze.

Memories of being despair rushing back to them, he was so sick of crying, but tears started to swell in his eyes once again.

"Ah, Kirigiri why don't we let them recover for a little bit longer, how about we get something to eat?" Naegi said with a slightly shaken voice. "You guys hungry?"

Sonia and Hajime just sat there absorbing all these new memories, processing them. All of them worse than they imagined.

"Well, I suppose that partly answers my question," Kirigiri huffed with a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

Naegi took a few steps toward them and waved his hand in front of their faces breaking their trains of thought.

"Hey guys, I know you are going to have a lot of ah… unpleasant memories but please understand it's not your fault, this was all Junko Enoshima's doing."

Hajime nodded his head slightly.

Kirigiri was the next one to come over.

"Are you able to stand?"

Hajime wasn't sure, he hadn't tried yet. He's always been able to stand so he felt like he should be able to but... he looked down at his legs. Bones were protruding from his skin, they looked just as fragile as Sonia's.

"The pods were meant to give you muscle therapy to stop any serious case of atrophy setting in but uh," Naegi paused to scratch the side of his face. "I guess they did a pretty poor job huh?"

Naegi got under Hajime's arm and helped him walk out of the room, Kirigiri did the same for Sonia. They were able to walk, if only just, with the help of Naegi and Kirigiri. They left the pod room and entered a hallway.

...

As they were making their way to wherever they were going. Hajime noticed that the sun was just starting to set. Orange rays were illuminating the hallway, as they made their way through. When he looked out the window to his left, he realised that they were quite high up with the sunlight glistening on the ocean far below. Probably on the third story of some building. He wasn't sure what building though, nothing like this had been in the simulation. He wondered what else had changed. At least they were still on what looked like Jabberwock Island.

After going down three stories (He was kind of proud of himself for being right) and out of the building, he realised that the Mirai hotel was right in front of him! They must have been in the same place the old building was in the simulation. They went inside the hotel and while the interior was different, it still had the same layout. He was quite surprised!

Seeing this look of awe on Hajime's face made Naegi grin.

"Look familiar? The simulation was modelled after the actual buildings on the island. A lot of stuff is different, but everything around the hotel is just about the same, except for the research facility we were just in. We added that fairly recently."

They went upstairs into the kitchen and sat down. They were all out of breath.

Sonia seemed to be relaxed enough, so he took that as a cue to be too.

"You guys want anything? There isn't a lot of variety in the way of food, still living off canned goods for the most part." Naegi asked with a heavy sigh at the end.

"I am not hungry but, could I please have some water?" Sonia asked.

"Of course," Naegi beamed back at Sonia with a big smile. "I'll grab you a glass to Hinata."

"Thanks."

Togami then came up the stairs from the outside of the building.

"Good at least you are clothed now." He remarked.

Kirigiri gave him a scowl. "Now why don't you explain to me exactly why you weren't in the pod room for your shift, Byakuya?" She snarled.

Togami raised the bridge of his glasses as he responded. "I have a good reason I assure you, but I believe the main priority is to get back there now. I presume no one is watching the pod room at this current moment? Let us have our discussion there."

You could tell Kirigiri was ready to throw down and looked rather scary with such an angry look on her face. Togami on the other hand still had his finger pressed against the bridge of his glasses, wearing a shit-eating grin like he knew something that no one else did.

"Fine." She got up quickly and started shoving Togami out of the building.

"Hey! Get your hands off me!"

Naegi sighed and ran towards the door. "I need to make sure they don't kill each other alright, are you guys okay to stay here for a little while on your own?"

Sonia nodded.

"Thanks. I promise I'll be right back. OH! I almost forgot these." He placed the two glasses of water he was holding on the table in front of them and jogged out the door.

They both brewed in uncomfortable silence for a long time with the occasional sip of water being the only moment of respite.

The sun began to get closer to the horizon as a cool ocean breeze blew through the restaurant.

It would be really nice if they weren't so depressed.

"Excuse me, Hajime?" Sonia suddenly spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if we talk? Although I, unfortunately, do not have anything pleasant to talk about."

He figured. "Of course not, what is it?"

A long silence followed.

"I just remembered that I killed my parents."

There was no emotion in her voice when she said that like she was merely stating a fact.

Her hands were neatly placed on top of one another on the table. She stared at them while speaking.

"I'm so sorry Sonia."

Thinking about his own parents, he realised he never saw them after the surgery. 'Probably dead' he concluded in his head.

"I killed them so I could secure the throne for myself and have total control over Novoselic and its army."

Darkness washed over her face. He wasn't sure what to say... Should he even say anything? What could he possibly say to that?

"I then took my army and used guerrilla warfare tactics across eastern Europe. Using surprise attacks on civilian towns and holdouts."

He just continued to listen.

"And do you know what the worst part about all that is?"

"…"

"It-It is… n-not even the worst thing that I-I have done." She lost all composure in that last sentence desperately trying to hold off tears.

"I-I I cannot do this Hajime. I am a terrible person! No, I do not believe I can be called that anymore. I'm something else. I am a monster!"

She broke down crying covering her face with her hands. Hajime rushed around to the opposite side of the table where she was sitting. He used the table to hold most of his weight as he still couldn't stand properly on his own. He sat down next to her, hugging her as hard as he possibly could. He stroked the hair on the back of her head.

'Ew, it was still sticky.'

She turned her body around to face him and buried her face in Naegi's shirt. She was sobbing uncontrollably. He started to tear up too.

"Sonia."

She sobbed quieter for a moment to hear what he was going to say.

"Chiaki died in front of me at Hope's Peak that day."

Her sobbing stopped for a moment in place of confusion as she looked up at him.

"The torture video that Junko showed you all… Chiaki's execution. I was right in front of her when she was stabbed by the final spears…. I just stood there…"

He began to choke on his words.

"I-I I could have saved her, Izuru Kamukura, h-he had the skills to. He knew exactly how!"

He began yelling

"BUT I DIDN'T! I WATCHED HER BLEED OUT AS SHE PLEADED FOR HELP. AS SHE BEGGED ME THAT SHE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE AND I JUST FUCKING STOOD THERE WATCHING HER!"

He realised that he was crying yet again today.

"I'm going to have to live the rest of my life with the knowledge that I could have saved her. But I didn't"

He cleared his throat.

"I know that if you weren't here right now.. if I didn't find you guys... I would have jumped off that building the moment I woke up."

Sonia's eyes widened with shock from the surprise of his last statement.

"But listen. We can't…. We can't blame ourselves for what we did while we were in despair. Or else we'll drive ourselves straight back to it."

The prospect of that thoroughly scared Sonia.

After finally being free from despair's grasp to then be taken back by it. She couldn't let that happen.

"But I promise you Sonia!"

He looked down at her trying his best to sound convincing.

"We can get through this together, were not alone. We will wake everyone up! I'm not going be satisfied until every last one of them is awake."

He didn't know if he believed a single word of what he was saying. He was just stringing clichés together to try to make some sort of coherent sentence.

"But I can't do this alone Sonia. I'm going to need your help."

He smiled slightly at just how cheesy that line was.

"Please, I can't do this without you. They need our help."

He believed his last line at least.

Sonia rubbed the tears from her eyes with her wrists and leaned back from Hajime.

"Alright!" She sniffled giving a weak smile. "Hajime Hinata give me your hand!"

She said that last bit like a royal decree, it made him chuckle, just a little bit.

He held out his hand and Sonia wrapped her pinkie finger around his.

"I have never done this before, so I hope I get this right."

'She must have seen it before on a tv show or something', Hajime wondered.

"We must promise to save everyone, okay!"

He smiled, he was happy Sonia was back to her old self again.

"Alright, Miss Nevermind! I agree!"

"Chiaki too!" She suddenly clarified

This took him by surprise.

"B-but Sonia she was just an A."

Before he could finish that sentence, she cut him off.

"That does not matter. She is our friend, and I want to see her again!"

He teared up a little bit but pinched his thigh refusing to cry.

"I couldn't agree more Sonia. Alright, it's a promise."

She beamed back at him with the biggest smile he had ever seen on her.

"It's a promise!" She said hugging him.

He realised it was getting dark in the restaurant now, the sun had just about set. He leaned over and turned on some lights. As it turns out even the light switches were in the same place.

"Alright Sonia, all this talking has actually gotten me pretty hungry how about we cook dinner together?"

He smiled at her.

She smiled back.

"Let us raid the pantry at once!" Sonia Exclaimed.

* * *

Authors Notes:

If you have read this far, thank you so much!

This is my first attempt at anything like this and I hope you enjoyed it. It's very rough but for my first attempt, I'm fairly happy with it.

The Danganronpa series left a massive impression on me. It has some of the strongest moments I've seen in any medium.

So while I enjoyed it thoroughly, I was disappointed it didn't do much with the DR2 cast after they woke up.

With 'The Days That Follow' I hope to expand on that concept by looking at how Class 77 would deal with their trauma and coming to terms with who they are after they wake up from the simulation.

DR1, DR2, UDG and DR3 despair arc are all cannon in this story the only things that aren't being DR0, DR3 future arc, hope arc and the OVA. There will probably be a few differences here and there, but I try to follow it as close as I can.

Any questions, complaints, compliments and ESPECIALLY constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

I'm already writing more chapters, so I hope you stick with me!

Thanks again for reading! All the best!

Amazing cover image (used with permission) by Leari! Please support their work and blog on Tumblr!


	2. Pop Goes The Weasel

They both collapsed onto the kitchen floor, laughing at the absurdity of the situation they were in. They only just managed to make it from the table they were sitting at stumbling the whole way.

"Will we have to crawl back!?" Sonia asked, still laughing at their predicament.

"I don't know? How are we going to make dinner?" Hajime said, laughing just as hard.

He couldn't believe how good it felt to laugh again, after everything they had just been through. For a single moment, they forgot about the world and all their problems. They were just two friends laughing at each other.

"I think we may have gotten ahead of ourselves Hajime," Sonia said still recovering from her laughing fit.

"Oh, man!" Hajime said with a slight chuckle. "You might be right, how long have we been awake for? Less than a couple hours? And we're already trying to make things go back to normal! What are we thinking?"

…

Hajime realized what he just said.

"Wait I didn't mean…"

"It's fine…" Sonia interrupted "W-we will get there, soon." She gave a brittle smile.

He could tell what he said upset her, unsure what to do. An awkward silence hung in the air.

He suddenly realized that the pantry door was next to him. He slid around on his butt to face it. It must have been a funny sight because Sonia let out a small giggle. He opened it up and started rummaging around various canned goods before reaching into the back of the cupboard, he felt the pantry equivalent of solid gold. Yanking it off the shelf to see it, he confirmed his suspicion. Hajime turned around to Sonia with a massive grin on his face, slamming the bag down onto the floor in front of her.

She flipped the bag over to see the label. Before getting an equally big grin at their new discovery.

"Chocolate chip cookies!" Hajime shouted although it hurt his throat a bit doing that.

Sonia ripped the bag open and grabbed a couple, taking a small bite to see how they were.

"They are excellent!" She mumbled with a few crumbs falling out of her mouth.

Hajime grabbed a few from the bag as well, before giving them a taste test himself.

Slightly stale but considering their age, he was surprised how good they were.

"Yes, they are!" He agreed. "Make sure you eat slowly though; I'm guessing it's been a while since we've had any solid food."

Sonia gave a slight nod before grabbing another two from the bag. 'Had she already finished the ones she was holding?' He wondered.

They heard Naegi shouting from outside the hotel while running up the stairs to the restaurant.

"Sorry that took so long you guys, they wouldn't st…"

He paused, confused that they weren't at the table anymore. He couldn't see them from where he was standing.

"Oh no... Where did they go?" They heard Naegi mumble to himself.

"We are over here!" Sonia called out to him.

They heard a sigh of relief before he walked over.

"What are you doing?" Naegi asked with a surprised look on his face.

"We have found our own dinner!" Sonia exclaimed while covering her mouth, still chewing on cookies. "Would you like one?"

Naegi chuckled. "Sure, why not." He sat down next to them and grabbed one from the bag.

A minute passed with nothing, but the sound of the cookie bag crackling followed by munching.

Eventually, Naegi spoke up. "So, did you guys manage to walk over here?"

"Only just, but we are not sure if we can make it back," Sonia said with a cheeky grin.

Naegi looked more concerned than entertained by their antics. He swivelled himself around looking at Sonia's back.

"Looks like you're bleeding again…" Naegi proceeded to wipe the floor behind Sonia with his index finger, before holding it out towards them, showing it had blood on it.

'She must have accidentally opened some of her stitches, while we were here.' Hajime thought.

"You two need rest, especially you Sonia. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken you here. Let's get you guys to your rooms." A look of disappointment came over Hajime and Sonia's faces. "I'll have Kyoko come back over and redo some of your stitches."

"I am sorry Naegi, we did not mean to cause you trouble…" Sonia said.

"It's fine! I'm glad you guys had something to eat, although I don't know if chocolate chip cookies were the best thing to start with!"

Naegi got up helping Sonia off the floor.

"Do you think you can follow us Hinata? Or should I come back for you?"

He considered this question for a moment. 'I only just managed to make it to the kitchen, I really don't know if I'll be able to walk to another building...'

But before he could answer, Kirigiri came up the stairs with two walking sticks.

"I'm presuming you are taking them back to their rooms, yes? Hopefully, these can be of assistance."

Naegi looked genuinely shocked and then proceeded to smile.

"You're always two steps ahead of everyone, aren't you Kyoko? You really are incredible!"

Kyoko blushed slightly before giving one of the walking sticks to Sonia and coughing slightly.

"Well yes, umm, I'll help Hinata up, I'll see you later okay?"

Naegi nodded before carefully helping Sonia down the stairs. A shot of anxiety shot up Hajime's spine. Were they being separated? He wasn't exactly sure why, but he really didn't want to be alone right now. It seems a similar thought occurred to Sonia because she looked back at Hajime with worry in her eyes.

"Um, where are we going Naegi? Is it far?" Sonia asked slightly panicked.

"Over to your cabins. They're in the same place as the ones in the simulation. Admittedly though… they aren't quite as nice." He said with a reassuring smile.

They continued down the stairs, Hajime and Sonia were still staring at each other, unsure what to do. They weren't exactly comfortable being separated so soon.

Hajime called out to her. "I'll come to see you soon okay!"

They disappeared down the stairs before he could get a response.

"Well, shall we go?" Kirigiri asked Hajime looking slightly agitated.

"Oh yeah…"

"Wait, were you eating cookies?" She asked, pointing at the half-empty bag on the floor. Crumbs were surrounding it. There were also a few spots of blood on the ground.

"Ah, yeah we were." He grabbed it before getting up. With the assistance of the walking stick and Kirigiri, they made their way to his cabin. He was disappointed that he didn't see Sonia on the way there.

* * *

The cabins looked similar from the outside, but they weren't raised above water like they were in the simulation, instead, being more spread out across a large grassy area. The grass was freshly mowed, and trees around the area seemed to have been trimmed. There was a lot of different cabins of various sizes with a sand path leading to each of them. Hajime guessed around 30 separate cabins in total were in the area. It all looked somewhat out of place for a tropical island but seemed nice enough.

"We're the only ones on the island at the moment." Kirigiri suddenly spoke up. "Eventually we want a small community to live here that works on the Neo World Program if this technology works… We could save so many lives."

She paused for a moment.

"It seems you and Sonia were brought out of despair, but you weren't using the simulation as originally intended. As you know, we intended for you to collect hope fragments, not play a killing game. Yet… that method seemed to work."

Hajime realized what she was getting at. Rage started to boil inside him.

"So, it's possible if the original plan doesn't…"

"No…" Hajime interrupted. "Those were the worst weeks of my entire life, even if you could save someone through those methods it wouldn't be worth it."

"But here you are, out of despair and sane. I'm not saying we use the killing game again, but it seems that some aspect of danger may be the key to undoing the brainwashing and deepening bonds. Isn't that what happened to you and Sonia?"

Hajime shoved her away and fell to the ground without the support.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT! YOU PLAYED A KILLING GAME TOO RIGHT!? WOULD YOU EVER WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN?"

Hajime wasn't really listening to what she was saying.

"You're the ones who put us in the simulation in the first place! You did this to us! Your fucking machines almost killed Sonia! AND you're saying you want something like this to happen again. HOW FUCKING DARE YOU! I-"

"Remember it was you who injected the virus into the simulation."

'THAT FUCKING BITCH! How could she… How…

...

…

She was right… it was his fault.'

Hajime slumped onto the ground burying his face into his hands.

He caused his friends so much suffering, if they didn't wake up, it was his fault. Their original simulation idea would have had close to zero risks attached to it. Even if it didn't work, everyone would have still been alive. They would still be awake…

Hajime started crying. He was sick of crying, at this point, it hurt to rub his eyes.

Kirigiri bent down next to him.

"I'm sorry. It was inappropriate for me to bring that up. We still need to test run the original concept of the Neo World Program and see how that goes. If it goes as planned, there would be no need to consider changing the simulation."

Kirigiri let out a long sigh.

"But you are right about what happened to Sonia. That's on us, even if there was no virus in the program the event of someone leaving their pod early still had a good chance of occurring. I'm sorry."

Hajime considered what she said.

"…I'm sorry too. I might be a bit on edge right now."

"Perfectly understandable, now how about we get you off the ground and into your cabin. You will be pleased to know that you will be staying in one of the nicer ones. Although unfortunately, it is up a small hill."

Kirigiri gave him a slight smile and offered her hand to help him get up.

He was still angry, but arguing with her right now wasn't going to achieve anything. He wiped away the last of his tears before grabbing onto Kirigiri's hand.

They continued up the path to one of the end cabins. It was a little bit bigger than the one he had in the simulation, but more run down. It had a small patio leading up to the front door with a couple of wooden chairs and a table. Inside was a double bed, wardrobe, desk and bathroom. All the things he had in the simulation, the main difference being that there was a small kitchen in the corner with a mini fridge, kettle and microwave. It reminded him of the motel rooms his family used to stay in sometimes when on holiday, the memory brought a small smile to his face.

"So here we are, you will be staying in this for the foreseeable future, so please make yourself at home, but please try not to damage anything."

"Thanks, I… can't thank you enough."

"It's fine, I will make a trip to the main island tomorrow to get some proper clothing for you and Sonia. While this island is uninhabited, the rest of Jabberwock is full of future foundation members and civilians."

Hajime realized what that meant.

"Is the reason this island is uninhabited because of us?"

Kirigiri looked away before answering.

"Yes. Unfortunately, not everyone in our organisation is on the same page when it comes to helping those in despair. Many believe we should have executed you all... So only very few future foundation members have permission to be on this island. Also, you all maybe dangerous so no one else will be living on the island until you have all been deemed stable."

Hajime thought to hear that would shock him, but it didn't. It made sense really.

"So please do not leave this island, we can't guarantee your safety if you do."

Hajime nodded.

"Also, while we have security measures in place, in the unlikely event that an intruder is spotted on this island do not approach them. The only people that have permission to be here is your class, Makoto, Byakuya and myself. Consider anyone else a threat."

That worried Hajime. Would someone come on the island to try and hurt them? He had no doubt that they all made enemies while they were despair, and not everyone would like to see them recover.

But something else was on his mind.

"Ah Kirigiri, where's Sonia?"

She raised an eyebrow before replying. "Sonia and Makoto should be in her cabin on the other end of the living area." Kirigiri let out a big sigh before continuing. "While it would be a lot easier to have you two closer together, our superiors marked down exactly where each person would be staying and what they say goes."

"I see…"

That made him quite uncomfortable. He was alone on the other side of the hotel; he probably wouldn't get to see her again today.

"Well get some rest. The taps should work, but unfortunately, we don't have any hot water available on this island. There is some food in the cupboards and fridge. Your wounds are minor compared to Sonia's so have a shower if you wish, but I will not do up your bandages again if you do."

Hajime nodded.

"Well then, I'm off to stitch up Sonia again. One of us will get you in the morning."

She placed the walking cane by the door and opened it, she paused while in the doorway turning back to face Hajime partially.

"Oh, and Hinata."

"Yeah?"

"Byakuya did have a good reason to not be in the pod room during his shift. Although he is still a massive asshole. It's a little hard to explain so I'll tell you tomorrow… Goodnight."

"Oh, okay, goodnight."

She closed the door behind her.

"A good reason, huh, I doubt that," Hajime muttered under his breath.

He was finally alone.

There was no way he was going to pass up on having a shower, so he headed to the bathroom. He seemed to be able to walk very short distances by himself, but it was a real struggle. He got up and shimmied his way over. He managed to make it, leaning on a wall once inside. A sink, toilet, mirror and a basic shower greeted him. He turned on the shower remembering there was no hot water.

'Oh man, my first shower in years and it's going to be cold.'

It was strange realizing that. He couldn't remember ever having a shower while he was Kamukura. Based off how pointless and boring he thinks everything is, he couldn't imagine him caring enough to have one.

He took his shirt off and carefully unwrapped the bandages around his chest.

"Holy shit!"

He was surprised, but he actually looked okay. Malnourished and pale yes, but he didn't seem to have any visible scars or burns like Sonia. He took off his shorts next. His toenails were long and disgusting but again no scars or injuries to be seen.

His excitement quickly grew into disgust, as he realized why that was the case. Kamukura was the ultimate hope. He didn't make mistakes, no one messed with him either, and whenever he did fight, it was completely one-sided. So, he never got hurt.

He caused despair and suffering to thousands over the years, killing, maiming, torturing, and he was completely fine. Nothing that a good shower, healthy diet and time in the sun couldn't fix.

He threw up in the toilet from the realization, he hated himself. **He hated him**.

But thinking about his past wasn't helping right now. He needed to take a shower. Hajime flushed the brown sludge of the cookies he threw up and got in.

The water was cold but not freezing. He furiously scrubbed years of muck and dirt off his body. Washing his hair was something else, it was like matted fur, years of grease and dirt holding it all together. It took forever, but he found it immensely satisfying slowly getting himself clean. After using most of the soap, shampoo and conditioner provided he was finished.

He was ready for what he kept putting off. He stepped out of the shower and leaned on the basin, looking up into the mirror.

It was about as bad as he expected. His hair was still relatively long, reaching down to his shoulders. Naegi just wanted to get it out of the way when he cut it, so he wasn't exactly asking what style he wanted. Imagining that scenario made him chuckle. It was also jet black instead of his old light brown colour. 'It would be hard to dye it with how dark it is.' He thought.

Next was his eyes, dark rings encircled them, but one thing about them caught him off guard. He had heterochromia, one eye was a dark red, and the other was his standard green. It looked, and he didn't like the constant reminder of Kamukura being a part of him every time he looked in the mirror.

He slapped himself on the cheeks with both his hands preparing himself for the next challenge. Letting out a small war cry hyping himself up as he opened his mouth to examine his teeth. They were plaque-ridden, yellow and furry. Clearly, Kamukura didn't give too much thought to dental hygiene. On the bright side though Hajime realised he wasn't missing any teeth and he could remember brushing very occasionally for the sole purpose that if he lost all his teeth, it would make all his meals more tedious and boring since he wouldn't be able to chew it.

He grabbed the toothbrush and toothpaste off the sink with gusto. It felt great to finally have a semi-clean mouth, although his gums were bleeding.

He realized he still had barely any facial hair with only the odd black hair sticking out from his chin.

"Jeez, some things never change, I guess?"

He wasn't sure if he was happy or sad about it, he grabbed a razor from under the sink. He then sighed, realizing it really wasn't necessary opting for some tweezers instead and plucking a few odd hairs off his face.

Lastly, he trimmed his nails. Dirt and blood were a common occurrence underneath them. He didn't know whose blood which bothered him.

He really didn't like how his hair looked, but he didn't feel confident cutting it by himself. It would have to do for now.

Finally feeling clean was such a relief, he put back on Naegi's shorts and shirt and collapsed onto the bed. He wasn't sure what to do next. He wasn't precisely hungry or thirsty. 'Should I just go to sleep?' He really didn't want to, he would then have to be alone with his thoughts. Anxiety shot through his body, he had to keep himself occupied at all costs.

Unsure what to do with himself, he grabbed the cane by the door and headed outside.

Apart from the light emanating from his room, it was utterly pitch-black, he could only just make out some odd lights on one of the neighbouring islands. When he looked up, he couldn't believe the sight before him. More stars than he had ever seen before, he could even faintly make out the milky way. He lay down on the grass next to his cabin, looking up at the universe.

Suddenly all his problems seemed so insignificant. He loved this feeling, peace. He was calm and relaxed; he realized the last time he was this calm would have been before he even went to Hope's Peak. That thought upset him though, and now he was no longer calm and relaxed. He chuckled at his predicament, but he quickly fell back into looking in awe at the sky above him.

This feeling couldn't last forever, though. The memories, the despair, the sadness was slowly creeping its way back into thoughts. The awe of the universe could only keep his attention for so long. He had to occupy himself with something quick. He wanted to go see Sonia and make sure she was okay.

'She almost died today, she's probably already asleep' he justified to himself, lying back down on the grass.

There was nothing more to do, he accepted the fact that eventually he would have to come to terms with his own head figuring now was as good as time as any.

He couldn't remember his time as Izuru Kamukura very clearly, but if he tried hard enough, the memories would always come and as if on cue, a dark, sickly memory engulfed his mind.

* * *

It was a cold, dark night. Fortunately, there was a full moon making it slightly easier to see through the darkness. He was standing on a small hill above a walled settlement in the middle of a forest. Multiple guards with rifles were keeping watch with spotlights to assist them.

"What is taking him so long?" The woman with silver hair asked.

"The fucking tubby is probably grabbing a snack on the way out. Bastard." The bald man replied.

A few minutes pass and the gate of the settlement opens, a towering figure is seen leaving. The gate was shut behind them. The bald man gets a radio from his jacket pocket and speaks into it.

"Quit with the fucking suspense and tell us what we need to know."

Static is heard for a few moments before someone replies.

"54 adults, 12 children, two dogs and six guards on the wall. Their guns are a bluff, they ran out of ammo weeks ago. Various bladed and bludgeoning weapons inside. Limited fighters, can presume under half would put up any kind of resistance."

The voice paused.

"As for a point of entry, the guard left of the gate is a massive coward. Scare him enough, and he'll open it."

The woman with red hair snatched the radio off the bald man. "Thanks, Imp! You're the best!"

The voice replied. "Until next time."

The bald man put the radio back into his pocket. "Looks like we're up."

A woman with horns shouted. "This is going to be so much fun! Ibuki can't wait to get inside!"

A blonde woman grabbed hold of Kamukura's arm. "Come on, Izuru! Give me a piggyback there. PLEASE!"

"No."

She pouted.

They walked down to the settlement until they were standing in front of the gate. Multiple spotlights were trained on them.

"Who are you!? What are you doing here!?"

The bald man grabbed two pistols from his jacket, tossing one to Kamukura before pointing the other one at the guard on the left.

"Do your thing."

"How boring."

Kamakura fired off five shots, killing five guards leaving one remaining.

"Open.. the… gate." The bald man said in a slow, methodical voice.

Izuru looked up to the guard. He was in a terrified panic, unsure of what to do. After doing nothing but shaking with fear for a few moments, he pissed himself and started sobbing before grabbing the handle and winding open the gate.

The blonde woman hopped a few steps forward before speaking. "Thanks, mister! Now you get to play a game with us too!"

The guard collapsed onto the floor beneath him, a look of utter defeat on his face.

'How predictable.'

Horrified screams and shouting were heard. Utter chaos was breaking out inside the camp.

"Quick, get the children inside!"

"Grab the weapons, they're here!"

"Matthew, where are you? Matthew!"

The bald man grabbed the silver-haired woman by the arm. "Kill anyone who picks up a weapon, then round up everyone else into the middle of the camp."

Multiple people started charging at them with various weapons, screaming as they did. The silver-haired woman unsheathed her sword and dashed forward, cutting off whatever limbs were holding weapons.

The weapons and the limbs attached to them fell to the ground, as each of them screamed in agony. One unlucky woman had been holding a sword in each hand.

The girl with horns skipped forward, grabbing the weapons and arms off the ground, chucking the weapons into the forest behind them and putting the limbs into a large duffel bag she was carrying.

The woman with red hair walked towards the group of dying attackers.

"Oh man it looks like that hurts, but the look of agony and despair on your faces is so hot! Mind if I get your picture?"

A man on the ground spat at here. "Fuck you, you crazy cunt!"

The red-haired woman walked forward, stopping in front of the spitting man and gave him a warm smile. She then stomped repeatedly on the man's face. His face squished and brains splattered under the force. She must have been wearing steel-toed boots because she was inflicting far more damage than Kamakura expected for a woman of her size.

The red-haired woman lifted the camera that was around her neck and pointed it towards the attackers on the ground.

"Say, cheese everybody!"

**_*Click!*_**

Ten minutes passed, and the silver-haired woman had rounded up everyone in the camp, making them stand in a small crowd.

The blonde woman gasped. "Wait! We're missing somebody! Hey mister!" She turned towards the gate. "The one who let us in! You didn't think we forgot about you, right? Come on down here and join the fun!"

He went climbing down the ladder from the top of the wall, he must have been shaking too much because he slipped and fell, dislocating his left leg when he landed.

"Can we get fucking started already. I'm getting bored." The bald man sighed.

"Hold on one second!" The blonde woman replied before crouching next to the guard.

"What's your name, mister?"

He looked towards the ground, not replying. The blonde woman looked annoyed and grabbed onto the mans dislocated leg, shaking it around. He cried out in agony.

"I said, what's your name, mister?"

"Cameron! Cameron. It's Cameron…"

She grabbed Cameron's face making him look at the crowd of people. Her voice became low and malicious.

"I want you to look at all these people Cameron. If you hadn't opened the gate, we had no way inside. Sure, we would have just come back another day and figured out a way in, but all these people would be okay right now."

She rotated his face making him face her.

"Now you get to watch them play a game!" She shouted before passionately kissing him.

The blonde woman got up and yelled at the woman with horns.

"You ready to go Ibuki!?"

"Yup, whenever you're ready!"

The woman with red-hair suddenly spoke up "Sorry one second, just making sure this is recording." She set up a tripod with a camera attached facing the crowd of people. She gave a big thumbs up. "Okay, we're good to go!"

"Yay!" The blonde woman yelled, raising her hands into the air. She skipped over towards the crowd.

"Alright, everyone! We are going to play a really fun game! Musical statues! When the music stops, you have to freeze! If you don't, we'll kill you! Let's start the game."

A woman cried out from the crowd. "Please! Just let the children g-" She was interrupted mid-sentence as the bald man shot her in the neck. He had set himself up on the wall with one of the guard's rifles.

'He must have had ammo prepared in advanced.' Izuru thought to himself. A little surprised that he thought this far ahead. 'Maybe they can provide me with some entertainment after all…'

The blonde woman screamed "NO FUCKING INTERRUPTIONS! Alright, Ibuki hit it!"

The woman with horns had grabbed an acoustic guitar from the camp. She began to play a children's song commonly recognized as 'Pop goes the weasel.'

The confused crowd began to move to the beat very limitedly, most of them crying. Around eight seconds into playing the woman with horns suddenly stopped.

"Man in the green shirt. I saw you move!" The woman with red hair shouted.

He was then shot in the abdomen by the bald man. The crowd screamed.

"The woman with pink hair, and the child in a red sweater." The silver-haired woman commented.

"Please, NO!" A man dived in front of the child acting as a shield. The bald man shot through him, killing them both. The pink haired woman tried to run. He shot her in the foot, then the head.

"Okay round two here we go!" The blonde woman yelled cheerfully.

As the game continued, the blonde woman went back over to the guard who just watched in horror.

"Oh yes, Cameron! That's the look! That's the look I wanted to see on your face. Oh, that despair!"

The blonde woman collapsed on the ground next to him and lifted his shirt. She began kissing and licking his chest, nipples and stomach before climbing on top of him and started forcing her tongue in his mouth.

After a few more seconds passed the woman with horns stopped playing.

"Woman in a yellow dress, the man in the red and black hoodie, man in red shorts and brown top, the two children at the front of the group." The silver-haired woman methodically called, the bald man shooting each one as she said them.

'She missed the old woman in the black dress' Kamukura thought to himself.

Kamukura let out a small sigh before speaking up.

* * *

Hajime sat there, frozen for a few seconds.

He started screaming. He kept screaming while rocking back and forth, holding his head with his hands.

"THAT WAS AWFUL! WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE?! THEY KILLED ALL THOSE PEOPLE... NO, WE… WE KILLED….."

"WE KILLED ALL THOSE PEOPLE!"

He began to scream louder, trying to drown out his thoughts with the sound. His throat started to writhe in agony as he did. His voice box had been struggling to make any sound only a few hours earlier and now that he was screaming it couldn't take it.

He felt the despair creeping in.

How could he ever recover from that? How could any of them? They were despicable creatures that didn't deserve life. They deserved all the pain and suffering they had experienced.

Hajime stopped screaming and began laughing. He couldn't breathe with how funny it was. They had committed all those acts of atrocity, and people still wanted to save them!?

'Are the future foundation idiots!?'

The despair buried itself deeper.

Hajime kept laughing, they had been through a whole killing game and watched all their friends die, and it was all for nothing.

'There is no fucking way we can come back from this! All that fighting and struggling was for nothing!'

Hajime couldn't believe how funny it was.

"There's no way I should let anyone wake up! We're all irreversible monsters! I should just go and put them out of their misery!"

The despair had taken over.

Hajime grabbed his walking stick and began to make his way towards the research facility where all his friends were sleeping.

He only made it a couple of steps before someone leapt out from the darkness and tackled him to the ground. They were holding him down with their weight, hugging him.

"LET ME GO! LET ME FUCKING GO! LET ME DIE! LET US DIE! LET-"

"NO, I WILL NOT!"

Hajime recognized that voice. He looked down, Sonia was on top of him crying. She squeezed on to him tighter.

"PLEASE HAJIME! Our friends need us, do not give in to despair so easily!" She shouted.

"I know we are monsters, I know we will never atone for all our sins, but we have to try."

"GET OFF ME! GET THE FUCK OFF ME!"

"I know Hajime Hinata, he is a kind, caring person who always puts the needs of others before his own! I love Hajime Hinata, he is not Izuru Kamukura! He is not the person he was while despair! He is my best friend, and I refuse to let him go!"

Sonia grabbed onto his cheeks, aiming his head towards her, she kissed him.

Hajime paused his yelling and looked up at Sonia. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, her hair was partly in his face, and it was still sticky. She looked tired, pale and malnourished. Clearly, the years she spent as despair had a massive toll on her, but looking up at her right now, with the milky way as a backdrop. He thought she had never looked more beautiful.

"Sonia… I"

She kissed him again.

"It's okay, I'm right here. We are going to save everyone together, remember?"

Hajime relaxed his whole body and started crying.

Sonia helped him sit up and hugged him as tight as she could. He couldn't believe he was crying again, it felt like the thousandth time today.

He hugged her back, burying his face into her shoulder. She caressed the back of his head.

'Oh, he washed his hair' Sonia thought.

"I'm so sorry, Sonia, I don't know what happened. I-I just…"

"It's okay. It's okay. It's okay." She kept repeating while holding him tightly.

After a few minutes, Hajime finally eased up on the crying, and they let each other go. She gave him a reassuring smile before sitting next to him on the hill.

"Thank you, Sonia..."

"You are very welcome Hajime, I hope you are feeling a bit better. Do you want to talk about what upset you?"

Hajime paused before lying down on the grass and looking up at the stars, Sonia followed his lead.

"I remembered Ibuki, Fuyuhiko, Peko, Mahiru, Hiyoko, Imposter and I teaming up and killing an entire settlement of people."

Sonia stayed quiet and listened as he continued.

"We toyed with them, making them play a game to see who we would kill first. We... We… revelled in it. In their despair."

They both looked up at the stars for a little while.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you Hajime. Do you regret doing it?"

Hajime sat up and looked at her, upset that she could even suggest otherwise.

"Of course, I do! All those people died because of us! We're despicable! We're monsters!"

Sonia continued to look at him before sitting up as well calmly.

"That is proof that you are not a monster Hajime. You truly and honestly regret your actions. You wish they never happened, and you cannot believe you were capable of doing such an awful thing. Then that is your proof. Proof that it wasn't you like Naegi told us. We had been brainwashed by Junko Enoshima, and you weren't even Hajime Hinata, were you?"

She continued.

"I know we have not known each other for too long Hajime, but I do feel like I really know you now. We have become so close in such a short time that I would consider you closer to family than friend. You can be sceptical, sarcastic and pessimistic sometimes, but I remember during the killing game I always felt like I could trust you. That you were a good person. We even hung out a few times, remember? I even gave you my panties! I have always enjoyed your company! I know you see yourself as something awful, a terrible monster, yes? Well please know that I have never thought that way about you. I know Hajime Hinata, and I know he is not a monster. Do you really believe that, deep down, anyone in our class is? Do you think I am?"

…

…

She...

She was right. No one in the class was a monster. The ultimate imposter did everything he could to prevent a murder and even died trying. He remembered how much Mahiru would stand up for her friends, especially Hiyoko if anyone gave her a hard time. Ibuki would always try to get people to smile and laugh, Peko and Fuyuhiko really cared about each other and Peko truly regretted her actions when she was found out as the killer. Then there was Nagito... actually no... fuck that guy. But the rest, Nekomaru, Teruteru, Gundham, Chiaki, Akane, Mikan they were all good people.

Finally, Sonia, he's never seen Sonia as a monster, not even close. She may have been the most patient and understanding person he had ever meet. He remembered what he thought when she was on the ground, dying after they left the simulation.

'I don't care what she did while she was despair, I can only guess similar things to me. But that's not her, that's not us.'

That happened only a few hours ago, and here she is trying her best to comfort him. Even though she hasn't gotten any rest since they left the simulation. She must be exhausted and yet making sure he was okay was still her priority.

"Sonia, you are truly an incredible person. I think you might be the most amazing person I've ever met."

Sonia blushed and looked away. Surprised by the sudden praise.

"You're right, I've never seen you as anything even remotely resembling a monster. If… If you are actually telling the truth and see me the same way. Well then, maybe…"

Hajime got real quiet before whispering "maybe I'm not a monster after all."

He felt a little sick, saying that he didn't believe it. But he did believe in Sonia, he believed that she was telling the truth and has only ever seen him as Hajime Hinata and that was enough for him, for now.

Sonia turned back around to face him, tears in her eyes. She had a frustrated look on her face. It looked like she was about to explode.

"Fuck you Hajime! Fuck you to hell!"

"What are you -?"

She slapped him on the back of the shoulder.

"OW!"

She yelled at him while waving her index finger in front of his face with a hand on her hip.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was! I've never seen you so upset! It's like you weren't even yourself anymore! I was so scared!"

Hajime lost it. He couldn't stop laughing, he's never seen Sonia have such an outburst and so unexpectedly as well.

He started rolling on the floor laughing, she looked even angrier, but he couldn't help it.

"This is not funny Hajime! I cannot believe you!"

A smile slowly crept onto her face, she tried to resist it for as long as she could, but eventually, it got hold. She started laughing too.

He finally calmed down, which took far longer than he expected. He sat back up and gave her a sideways hug before lying back on the ground and looking up towards the stars.

They sat there for a few minutes before Hajime finally spoke.

"I've never seen so many stars before, was it anything like this in your home country?"

"Yes, it was. When I was little, I would often sit with my father on one of our balconies, and he would tell me about various constellations and the stories behind them. They were all so wonderous and magical. I enjoyed them very much." Sonia gave a longing smile before lying down next to Hajime.

"That's a lovely memory, Sonia. Your father sounded like an amazing dad."

Sonia paused.

"He was, he was also an amazing king."

"Can you tell me a few of them? I don't know any constellations."

"Hmm well let's see… Oh, I know! Over there, see those six stars. That's called Cetus it's named after a mythical sea creature from Greek mythology it was –"

Hajime listened with a patient smile on his face as Sonia regaled him with stories of monsters and gods from various mythologies. It suited her to a tee he thought to himself.

He wasn't sure how much time passed, but he found it challenging to keep his eyes open, and Sonia began yawning. Eventually, they just lay there for a few minutes.

"I guess we have to go to sleep at some point, don't we?" Hajime said with a chuckle.

"I suppose you are correct but…" Sonia looked uncomfortable. "I really don't want to be alone with my thoughts, I know I am asking a lot of you, but may I stay in your cabin tonight?"

Hajime blushed a little but quickly relinquished any dirty thoughts in his mind.

"Of course, you can Sonia, would you even be able to make it back to your cabin?" That's when Hajime realized. "Wait a second, how did you even make it to my cabin in the first place? We can barely walk!"

Sonia blushed and looked down at her legs.

"I crawled."

Hajime had to try his absolute hardest to not laugh at the mental image of Sonia crawling a few hundred meters up a grassy hill.

"You crawled?"

"Yes."

Hajime bit his tongue as hard as he could. He didn't know why he found that so funny but an actual princess crawling her way to see him was something he would have never guessed would happen in his life. Most of all, he found it incredibly touching.

"Well then, want to head inside?"

"I think that would be best. I am still nervous about going to sleep, but I am rather tired."

He shimmied over to his cane and helped Sonia up. Sure, enough, her cane was nowhere in sight. It seemed she was telling the truth. Hajime got a massive goofy grin on his face, he looked away to make sure Sonia couldn't see it.

It was only a few metres but having to support Sonia's weight, and his own was a serious challenge. He opened on the door and collapsed on the floor panting. Sonia sat on his bed.

"Thank you for the assistance Hajime."

"No…. *huff* worries *puff*…"

Sonia let out a small giggle seeing him in this state.

"May I use your bathroom?"

Hajime nodded. Still trying to recover.

Sonia moved around the bed to face the bathroom. She then looked towards it before looking down at her legs.

"Could I also use your walking stick to help me get there?"

Hajime knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't resist.

"You could crawl there."

He looked over at her. She was staring daggers, it terrified him. He quickly grabbed his walking stick and passed it to her.

He caught a glance of her walking there; the back of her white singlet was covered in blood and grass stains. Now he felt bad about teasing her. He got up and sat on the bed.

He realized he only had a few moments to think before she would be back. He had to ask but wasn't sure how to approach the topic. He really wanted the peace of mind, and with everything else stressing him out he didn't want this to be as well.

* * *

She got out of the bathroom and sat on the opposite end of the bed. They both faced away from each other, finding the situation a little awkward.

"Hajime, I know I am already… ah, what's the phrase…. Pulling my luck? But could you please turn off the light, I don't want to stain the bed with this blood-soaked shirt. I believe the bandages will keep a majority of the blood off it and keep me mostly covered up…"

'Oh great, now the awkwardness is dialled up to ten' Hajime thought.

"Look you don't have to do that, take this."

Hajime unbuttoned his shirt and gave it to her.

"It doesn't fit me very well, anyway."

Sonia blushed a little and smiled, "Thank you."

He looked away while she got changed. Afterwards, she climbed under the sheets.

Hajime turned off the light and got under as well.

A long silence followed as they lay on opposite sides of the double bed, but Hajime didn't notice he only had one thing on his mind, and he had to ask.

"Well, goodnight Haj-"

"Sonia."

"Yes."

"Is there… Something between us…" Hajime already regretted bringing this up.

"It's just, you kissed me earlier, and I was wondering if that was just to get me to stop panicking or if it was something else…"

Another silence followed. Hajime wanted to jump out the window. Finally, Sonia replied.

"I don't know…"

'God I'm an idiot… She's a fucking princess why –' Before he could continue the thought Sonia spoke up again.

"I really mean I do not know. To say this is a complicated situation would be a massive understatement… I know I have never felt closer to a person before, I believe that is because of the incredible amount of trauma we have been suffered together."

She took a deep breath in and out before continuing.

"Can I be completely honest with you Hajime?"

He felt like his heart was beating out of his chest.

"Yeah, of course."

"I think I have feelings for you, but I also have feelings for other members of our class as well."

He thought she might, both Gundham and Kazuichi were often at her heels.

"Do you like Gundham?"

She paused for a moment.

"I don't know..."

He was surprised, he thought she would confirm it straight away. Then an even more surprising thought occurred to him.

"Do you have feelings for Kazuichi then?"

Sonia let out a big sigh before yelling in frustration.

"I do not know!"

She wriggled around in the bed.

"I am a complete an utter mess! I am not sure of anything at the moment, and it is driving me utterly bananas! Kazuichi is a very kind and thoughtful person, and Gundham is incredibly fun to be around, but I am not sure if I have feelings for them or not."

She let out another big sigh.

"I need to confirm if I do have any feelings towards you and the others but, to do that, I need everyone to wake up… And I would not act on any of these feelings until we are all reunited."

"I see…"

Hajime could imagine just how much Kazuichi would be freaking out if he heard what she said.

"Hajime, you have asked me a question may I ask you one?"

He paused. He wasn't exactly sure what Sonia was going to ask, and it made him nervous.

"Okay."

"It is a difficult question, are you sure?"

"I guess."

"Do you have feelings for Chiaki Nanami?"

It hurt just hearing her name. While he was coming out of the simulation, he thought she was just an A.I., but there was a real person named Chiaki Nanami as well who went to Hope's Peak, and he watched her die. He found it so hard to distinguish the two. There were two versions of her, and he cared for both. It was so hard to tell where his feelings for one ended and the other began, were they really so different? He wasn't sure.

"Yes, I did, but…. I am not sure for which one. Or if it's both. In the end one of them is dead, and the other is an A.I., so it doesn't matter…"

Sonia looked like she wanted to say something but decided not to.

"Do you have feelings for me, Hajime? Or anyone else in the class?"

'Good question.' He thought to himself. He once had a gay fantasy about Nagito, but after seeing just how insane he is, if he did have any feelings towards him, they were undoubtedly gone now. He realized he kind of liked Mikan, but it felt more like a small crush to him, rather than anything remotely serious. The real question was Sonia, the girl who just said she might have feelings for him, that he thought looked gorgeous under the starlight, that climbed a hill on her hands and knees to help him and that was right now, lying in his bed next him waiting for an answer.

Hajime knew his feelings for Chiaki were real, he thought he may have even loved her, and he watched her A.I. counterpart die yesterday. He didn't know what to do with those feelings anymore, all this love he had for a person that had already been dead for a long time. It all meant nothing.

'Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.'

He began to tear up a bit, he was glad the lights were off so Sonia couldn't see him.

'Sonia. Sonia. Sonia.'

Every time he thought about her, it was a happy memory even though they had been through hell together. He really enjoyed being around her, he felt that she was the most incredible person he had ever meet. Loving, caring, charismatic, confident, funny, he could go on but… He wasn't sure if it was a romantic love he felt for her or more of a friendly one. But these feelings for Chiaki had to be sorted out before he could really think about another girl.

"I think I have feelings for you too Sonia, but I'm just as confused as you are. These feelings I have for Chiaki, I need some time, I need closure. My last time seeing her, either of her, she was being executed, and I… truly don't know how to deal with that. What I felt for her may have even been love, and I just wish I could have said a proper goodbye."

He sniffled before continuing. 'Dammit, I'm crying again.'

"But right now, right now, you are the most important person in my life. I've said it before, but I really don't think I would have made it this far without you here… I want to find out if my feelings for you are romantic ones but do that…"

He finally realized what he had to do.

"I have to see Chiaki again. We need to save her A.I."

Sonia turned over to face him a big smile on her face.

"We had already agreed to remember? Do not worry, I promise you will see her again."

He smiled back, rubbing the last of the tears from his eyes. 'That's the last time I cry today' he promised himself.

"You're right we did, didn't we? Well then, let's save everyone and meet back here afterwards. We will discuss our feelings for each other then! Okay?" Hajime said, half joking.

Sonia held out her hand towards him with her pinkie extended.

"Promise."

He chuckled to himself a little, he wasn't sure if she took what he said entirely seriously or if she was going along with the joke.

He wrapped his pinkie around hers. "I promise."

They both fell backwards lying back in bed, staring up to the ceiling.

"Look at us Hajime, we have only been awake for a few hours, and we are already talking about romance." Sonia chuckled.

Hajime chuckled as well. "Maybe things will go back to normal a bit quicker than I thought."

Sonia had an even bigger grin on her face. She turned onto her side and giggled slightly.

"Goodnight Hajime."

Hajime turned onto his side as well and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight Sonia."


	3. Presumptions & Assumptions

**DAY TWO**

Hajime woke up to the sound of a loud whistling, he got worried for a second and opened his eyes. Sonia was leaning against the bench, carefully pouring a brown powder and a small teaspoon of sugar into two mugs. Hajime sat up and smiled.

"Are you making coffee?"

Sonia gave a tired smile before replying "Yes, I am sorry it seems the kettle woke you up. I did not expect it to be so loud."

"It's fine." He rubbed his eyes before continuing. "Do you need some help?"

"Absolutely not! Stay right there. You must allow me this small gesture of thanks for allowing me to stay here."

Hajime chuckled to himself. She looked so determined, actually, it was more than that. She looked like she was concentrating really hard. Then a thought occurred to him.

"Sonia… have you made coffee before?"

She silently poured the hot water into each mug before replying.

"I have not… but I have seen my various maids do it many times. I always enjoyed waking up to a fresh cup of coffee in the morning and I was hoping to do the same for you."

'She is adorable sometimes'. Hajime thought. 'She really must have had a sheltered life before Hope's Peak…'

Sonia carefully picked up the cups of coffee and stumbled her way over to Hajime, almost spilling them in the process. She handed him one and he gladly accepted. She sat down on the end of the bed and looked towards him, a hesitant smile on her face. She must have been waiting to see what he thought.

He looked down at the black abyss of liquid before him before taking a small sip. It was the single most bitter thing he had ever tasted, she had put way too much coffee in. Knowing it was made for him though, as a gesture of thanks, made it a bit better.

"Thanks Sonia, this is just what I needed." He replied gritting his teeth and trying to give the most convincing smile he could.

"You are very welcome Hajime, unfortunately, there is no milk so I could only make black coffee, but it will have to do."

She took a sip before letting out a satisfied "Ahh".

'Wait, she thought it was good? Does she usually have her coffee this strong?'

He looked down at his coffee with horror.

'Does she have taste buds!?'

Hajime smiled to himself and relaxed, leaning back against the headboard. He was panicking over something as stupid as this.

'It doesn't matter at least this will wake me up.'

They both casually chatted about the differences they had seen on the island compared to the simulation, the weather and other non-offensive topics as they had their coffee, enjoying each other's company.

"How did it go again… OH, I think I remember now. Knock Knock!"

'Oh, this should be good!'

"Who's there?"

"Interrupting cow."

"Interrupting cow w-"

Sonia then stared him dead in the eyes and made a mooing sound as loud as she could.

…

Ten minutes. It took ten minutes for Hajime to finally recover from his near-death laughing fit. Multiple times he would start to calm down just for her to moo in his face again. It was such a dumb joke. He couldn't believe it, if it had been done by anyone else, he probably would have sighed. Since it came from Sonia though with the accompanying image of her acting like a cow, made it the funniest thing he had ever experienced.

"See Hajime I told you I know a good joke! If being a princess did not work out, I was going to become a stand-up comedian!"

"I'm so sorry Sonia! I never should have doubted you for a second!"

Satisfied with herself, Sonia set down her empty mug on the bedside table.

"Hajime, may I use your shower? I was told not to have one last night because Kirigiri did not want to re-do my bandages again that day. I would shower at my own cabin, but the truth is I do not want to go all the way over there."

"Yeah of course Sonia! Go hard!"

"Thank you Hajime, I shall go hard!"

She grabbed his walking stick and hobbled over there. Closing the door behind her.

Hajime really enjoyed seeing this version of Sonia. She was less like a princess and more like a regular girl. Hajime let out a happy sigh before looking around the room wondering what he could do to occupy his time. Strangely he saw a letter on his desk that was unopened. He went over to it and sat down. The desk was light brown, wide and wooden. It also had a couple of draws attached to the side for storage.

He grabbed the letter and flipped it over. It had his name on it! At that same time, he heard Sonia turn on the shower and get in.

Curious at what it could be he opened it and read the contents. It was written in what looked like a normal blue point pen. But the way it was written, gave him the creeps.

_You are boring me Hajime_

_You have been completely predictable so far_

_I am only allowing you control to see who wins_

_Which one is more interesting_

_Which one is more unpredictable_

_Hope or Despair_

_But right now, you're boring me_

_She's boring_

_Stop being boring_

_Or else I will have to step in_

_This is your only warning_

_This is not your body anymore_

_You are a guest in mine_

He sat there in stunned silence for a little while running through all possible scenarios in his head. He knew only one scenario was the truth though. He wrote this, or more specifically Kamukura did and he didn't even remember doing it.

Hajime sat back in his chair doing his best not to panic and trying to think this through.

'At some point last night while Sonia was asleep, I got up and went to my desk. Opened it, got an envelope, paper and pen and wrote this letter before going back to bed. This indicates a couple of things.'

'Firstly, he can section off memories from me. Meaning I only remember what he wants me to remember. Or at the very least he can stop me from remembering some things, limitedly.'

'Second, he's not happy with what I have done so far and will step in if necessary. Meaning he believes that he can control my body without my permission.'

Hajime had a deep scowl on his face. He had to think of a way to beat him. The only reason why he wasn't completely panicking right now was because of one line in the letter.

"She's boring."

Hajime knew what that meant, he knew it was a threat. He would sooner kill himself than let him hurt Sonia. Then it occurred to him.

'What if he… what if he knows that I would kill myself? What if he can't always maintain control? What if Kamukura only has limited control over my body? Otherwise wouldn't he take more drastic and confrontational actions?'

Hajime tried to link the two times Kamukura took over his body seeing if they had anything in common. The first time being after they woke up from the simulation and then again last night. Were there any conditions that had to be met before he could take over?

He couldn't think of anything in particular, it had only happened two times so far, so he didn't have enough to go on. He realized he wasn't going to just go away. He had to beat him, he had to get rid of him and if he couldn't do that.

He would kill him.

At that moment he heard a crash in the shower. He raced over to the door and banged on it.

"Hey, Sonia, are you alright in there?"

She took a few moments to reply.

"Yes, I am fine. Sorry to worry you. I tripped and fell."

"Oh, okay. Please be careful."

"I will."

Hajime looked back down to the letter in his hand. He wasn't sure what to do with this information. He let out a large sigh before heading back to the bed and sitting down. Should he lock himself up just in case? Should he let Sonia know? What about Naegi, and the rest of the future foundation?

He wasn't sure what to do…

Eventually, he realized there was no right way to go about this. So, he decided he would have to operate off certain presumptions. If he did nothing but stress and worry about Kamukura they would never wake up their friends.

So, he made a guess.

'He can't take over if I'm awake and in a good state of mind.'

That was the best he could come up with. He had no idea if he was right or not. The first time Kamukura took over he was desperate to help Sonia and the second time, he was unconscious. He had to focus on saving his friends, he had to focus on beating despair. Then he would defeat Kamukura and reclaim himself.

So, he would operate based on that presumption.

But there was still a question that needed answering.

He looked towards the bathroom door, 'should I tell Sonia?'

* * *

Sonia looked in the mirror and smiled. She had been looking forward to taking a shower for a very long time. She carefully undressed and removed her bandages before turning on the shower.

'Oh yes, it is cold. That is a shame.'

Her hair felt heavy and sick. Like she had a dead animal attached to her. She quickly got in the shower and thoroughly enjoyed finally cleaning herself. To have clean, healthy hair was a dream come true. Not to mention finally getting all the muck and grime off her body that accumulated while she was despair.

She was smiling in the shower, surprised how good she felt. She knew there would be many obstacles ahead but with how supportive Hajime was she felt like they were going to be okay. She tried thinking up some new material to tell him when she got out of the shower. She then remembered the comedy special of her favourite show 'Sun Witch - Esper Ito' she had to find a copy and get Hajime to watch it with her sometime.

She realized she finally had a friend, and she couldn't be happier. She was friends with her class back at Hope's Peak but never felt so close to just one person. She trusted Hajime and laughed when she reminded herself that technically they had only known each other for a couple of weeks.

Feeling satisfied with her cleaning efforts she opened the shower door.

Seeing her bloody bandages on the floor suddenly triggered a memory within her.

A cold room, strapped down to a table. A nurse on top of her, salivating from the pleasure of her screams of agony. Getting off to the pain she was inflicting upon her, as she continued to torment her.

She fell backwards, slipping and crashing into the shower. Suddenly she heard a knock at the door.

"Hey Sonia, are you alright in there?"

"…Yes, I am fine. Sorry to worry you. I tripped and fell."

"Oh okay. Please be careful."

"I will."

She cradled her knees and sat in the shower letting the water rain down on her.

She forgot what the nurse did to her. She felt like an idiot thinking that the only permanent damage she received was scars and burns.

She sat there for a moment longer before turning the shower off and getting out. She got dressed and opened the bathroom door.

Hajime was sitting there with a serious look on his face and a letter in his hand.

* * *

"So, what do you think?"

Sonia thought for a moment before answering.

"Yes, I believe the assumptions you have made may be the correct ones, but we do not know for sure. I think, for the meantime, we should take some precautionary measures."

"Okay, like what?"

"We should all sleep with our cabins locked and you should not sleep with or near anyone until this is sorted."

Hajime got quiet for a moment and looked down at the ground.

"I think you should stay away from me... He might come after you if he ever takes control again..."

Hajime didn't want to see her reaction to what he just said.

"I am not doing that Hajime. I am annoyed that you think I would."

"I don't like it either but wh-"

"If Kamukura wanted to hurt me, I do not believe anything we do can stop him. We just have to hope he doesn't."

She paused for a bit, grabbed Hajime by the chin and made him face her.

"I also believe that if he does try to hurt me. You will stop him."

'Psshh yeah, no pressure' Hajime thought to himself before giving a thoughtful nod.

He knew what it felt like with Kamukura having control, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop him from doing anything, but…

The truth is he just didn't want to stop seeing Sonia, so he agreed to her plan. Unsure if he was being selfish or not.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Hey, Hinata! You awake? Sonia's missing any idea where she is? Can I come in?"

Naegi opened the door before either of them could answer.

They were both sitting on the bed together, Sonia still wearing Hajime's shirt. Naegi must have thought he walked in on something because he muttered "S-S-Sorry!" Before slamming the door closed.

Hajime and Sonia looked at each other and laughed.

"Hey, Naegi! Come back in, it's fine."

The door slowly opened with Naegi peeking around it.

"I was ah- just making sure you guys were okay. Come have some breakfast in the hotel when you are ready."

"Thank you Naegi, we will be down there in a second."

He closed the door and they heard him scuttle away.

"Well, should we head down the-"

Sonia suddenly interrupted.

"Don't tell them about the letter."

This comment took him by surprise.

"Why not?"

"I trust Naegi, Kirigiri and Togami. I believe they are doing everything they can to help us, but I do not trust the future foundation."

She held his hand and stared at him before continuing.

"If they were to report to their superiors that you are not in full control, they may take… drastic actions. Calling the Neo World Program, a failure."

She was right. There was no telling how they would react to that piece of information. Not to mention the Neo World Program didn't operate the intended way in the first place. They may use Kamukura as leverage to shut the program down, 'proof' that it didn't work. What would happen to their friends then if they were still sleeping?

"You're right. Let's keep this to ourselves for now."

Sonia smiled.

"Shall we head to breakfast then?"

* * *

They arrived up the back steps of the hotel to be greeted by Kirigiri waving for them to join her at the table. Awaiting them was fresh clothing, shoes and underwear.

"Sorry I didn't get this to you sooner. It shouldn't happen again. I got enough clothing for everyone in your class. Just don't expect to be changing outfits too often."

"Thanks, Kirigiri!" Hajime offered her his hand for a handshake.

She smiled, reaching over and shaking his hand firmly.

"It looks like you are in desperate need of clothing Hinata." Noticing he was shirtless, "Why did you give Sonia your shirt?"

"Her other one was bloodstained."

"Ah." Kirigiri nodded realizing.

"May I get changed now?" Sonia asked.

"Knock yourself out," Kirigiri replied.

"I am sorry! I did not mean to offend you!" Suddenly Sonia was panicking, wildly bowing up and down.

Hajime facepalmed and sat down at the table.

"Sonia it's an expression, it basically means yes."

She stopped bowing and started looking confused.

"Oh… How does that make sense?"

"Iunno" Hajime shrugged.

Suddenly they heard Kirigiri give a small chuckle at the whole exchange. They both looked in her direction. She turned her head away in embarrassment. That was the first time they had seen her laugh.

"Ah… yes… well, I do have one more thing more thing for you, Sonia." She grabbed a diamond adorned bow from her pocket. "We found this near where we ah… Captured you…"

Sonia's eyes sparkled as brightly as the diamonds. She then leapt across the table into Kirigiri knocking her off her chair and onto the floor. Sonia then squeezed her so tight, he could have sworn she started to go a similar shade of purple to her hair.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH KIRIGIRI! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THIS BOW MEANS TO ME!"

Kirigiri attempted to push Sonia off her with all her might. "GET… OFF… ME!"

Sonia wasn't listening, he saw a tear roll down her face. He was happy that Sonia received something so special to her. He then saw multiple tears roll down Kirigiri's face but for very different reasons. Hajime realized that he should probably step in.

"Alright Sonia, go get changed okay? Time to leave Kirigiri alone."

Sonia looked towards Hajime and nodded before giving Kirigiri one last squeeze. It looked like she was about to burst. She then grabbed the rest of her clothes off the table and crawled towards the bathrooms.

Hajime laughed at the whole ordeal and especially enjoyed watching Sonia crawl off.

Kirigiri lay there for a second recovering her breath.

"She…*huff* is surprisingly…*Puff* strong for a cripple."

"Well, that's good to hear," Hajime replied.

Kirigiri sat back up on her chair and composed herself. Hajime slipped on one of the black t-shirts provided.

"So how did you get down to the restaurant?" She asked. Probably puzzled why Sonia would be crawling to the bathroom.

"Very slowly" Hajime replied with a chuckle. "We leaned on each other for support and made it down here. Your walking canes have been a big help by the way. Thanks for that."

Kirigiri nodded before getting up and heading to the kitchen.

"Baked beans on toast is what we will be having for breakfast today. With a protein drink and various vitamins to along with it."

"Sounds great!"

Hajime never liked baked beans very much, but god did that sounded good to him right now.

Sonia then emerged from the bathroom proudly adorning her new garments. She was wearing a light purple V-neck with a black skirt. With her typical black bow, a top her head.

"So, Hajime what do you think? I have never worn casual attire before!" She then did a small spin, stumbling slightly when she stopped.

"You look really good Sonia; casual clothes suit you." Her eyes lit up at the compliment before stumbling back to the table and being seated.

"Here Hajime." She slid a pink hair tie across the table to him. "Give it a try."

He hated having long hair, but he didn't know when he would get the chance to cut it. With a deep sigh, he picked up the hair tie and made his hair into a ponytail.

'At least it won't get in my eyes anymore.' Hajime thought.

"Better," Sonia commented with a smile.

At that moment Togami walked in the room and sat down next to Sonia.

"Good morning you two, I hope you slept well. Although from what I heard from Makoto, maybe you didn't get any sleep at all?" He lifted his head back and gave Hajime a cocky smile.

'God he's an asshole.' Hajime thought.

"Naegi misunderstood the situation, nothing happened between Hajime and me last night. I simply stayed in his cabin."

Togami smirked at Sonia, but she held her composure and stared him down. They seemed to be having a standoff of some sort. Eventually, Togami looked away and gritted his teeth, it seemed she won this battle.

Kirigiri sat down next to Hajime serving plates of baked beans on toast with an egg on the side.

Sonia and Hajime thanked her and started digging in.

"Byakuya do you have them? I want to make sure they drink it with breakfast."

Togami nodded and pulled two bottles out of his bag.

"Drink these, they have a lot of the minerals and vitamins you were lacking when we brought you in. They have also been adjusted to suit each of your needs better. Hinata this is for you, and here, take this princess."

Hajime took his drink, a little grossed out by the bright green liquid inside.

"Thank you, Togami, but please do not call me princess, my name is Sonia."

Togami looked a little shocked. That was twice now that Sonia stood up for herself. Hajime figured this guy usually thinks he's above everyone.

'That won't work on Sonia, asshole.'

"Listen here Son-YA, I will call you by-"

"I think that's enough Byakuya." Kirigiri interrupted and smiled at Sonia. It seems she may have taken a liking to her.

"How about you explain to them why you weren't in the pod room yesterday and tell them the good news."

Togami looked like he was about to yell but let out a very loud and audible sigh instead. Hajime and Sonia weren't paying attention to him though they wanted to hear what the good news was.

"Very well… The reason you two woke up first was not a coincidence like we originally told you. I was not in the pod room yesterday because I was in a control room of sorts, adjusting various settings of the simulation. I had a theory."

Togami adjusted his glasses before continuing. A mocking smirk slowly started to form on his face again.

"For the two weeks you were asleep we had kept the simulation running like normal. Being that no one was waking up I took it upon myself to change something."

Sonia and Hajime were at the edge of their seats. Togami clearly took great enjoyment from keeping them in suspense.

"I turned the simulation off." He announced triumphantly. "It seems that you were content with dreaming for the rest of your days but once your consciousness lost all of its stimulation it decided to finally wake up… You're welcome!"

'Even when saving us, he's still an asshole.' Hajime decided that he really didn't like this guy.

"Does that mean we can wake up everyone else up in the same way!" Sonia grabbed Togami's hands, clearly very excited at the prospect.

Togami shook her off and Kirigiri replied to her question with a smile.

"Yes, we believe so, at least it should work with the other survivors of the killing game. We are still running tests to see if it would work on waking up the rest though."

Sonia smiled back and nodded.

"That is fantastic news! When can we wake them up?"

"After you have finished breakfast if you wish." Sonia's eyes lit up.

"Yes, please! I would very much like to see our friends again!"

Hajime was excited too. He was worried It might take another few weeks for the rest of the survivors to wake up, so this was fantastic news. He turned to face Togami.

"Thank you, we owe you one."

* * *

After finishing breakfast and the disgusting protein shakes, they made their way over to the pod room where Naegi was waiting for them.

"Hey, guys! Are you ready to get your friends lazy butts out of bed?!" Naegi said waving them over.

"Yes, we are! Can we get started?" Sonia asked.

Kirigiri joined in the conversation and leaned against the wall.

"Byakuya you head to console room and get everything set up. You have your radio with you right? I'll contact you when we're ready."

Togami nodded and left the room. Sonia and Hajime sat on the ground getting tired from standing up. Naegi and Kirigiri sat down next to them, the four them formed a small circle on the floor.

"Listen, I know you are excited for your friends to wake up but remember just how hard it is. They might be very different people than the ones you knew in the simulation."

Hajime and Sonia nodded, clearly feeling anxious now that they were here.

Naegi smiled and began to speak up sensing the tension in the room.

"I wouldn't worry too much! You guys seem to be alright and it's only been a single night!"

That was little comfort to Sonia and Hajime, they remembered just how hard that night was.

* * *

They each took point at a pod. Hajime was watching Fuyuhiko's pod, Sonia was watching Akane's and Naegi was watching Kazuichi's.

"Let's go over the plan one more time," Kirigiri said getting a radio out of her pocket. Preparing to contact Togami.

"We don't want a repeat of last time so talk to them, comfort them, physically keep them in there if you have to so they don't get hurt. It takes about 20 minutes for the pod to fully detach its wires from the patient, so keep them in there until then."

They all nodded readily.

"Let's do this!" Naegi called out.

Kirigiri turned on her radio and spoke into it. "Do it."

"Understood."

Hajime didn't like what that reminded him of, but he shook away the feeling and tried to keep focused on Fuyuhiko. They had towels, water, hospital gowns, first aid kits and a little bit of food at the ready. He was about to see his friends again, and he was very excited.

…

Ten minutes passed and nothing had happened yet. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Finally, Naegi spoke up.

"So, who do you think is going to wake up first?"

Sonia and Hajime stayed quiet, they were far too nervous to humour him right now.

"I think, it's going to be Soda over here, he looks ready to wake up!" Hajime appreciated what he was trying to do but he was not in the mood.

…

Another five minutes passed. He was starting to get worried.

'W-'

Before he could even start that thought he heard a bang on the glass in front of him.

Fuyuhiko was awake!

Hajime got a dumb grin on his face seeing his friend again.

"Hey, loser. Good to see you're awake."

Fuyuhiko looked around the pod panicked for a second but eventually realized at least partially what was happening and looked back at Hajime. He flipped him off and smiled.

"It's nice to see you too buddy." Hajime then gave a big wet kiss to the Fuyuhiko's pod and laughed.

"You've got to stay in there for a little while okay. The pod has to detach it's wires before it lets you out."

Fyuhiko then looked around, panicked, realizing he was attached to a bunch of wires and started struggling against them.

"Hey... Hey! Fuyuhiko look at me!" He stopped panicking for a second and looked at Hajime. "I'm right here okay, I'm not going anywhere. Just let the pod do its thing. You'll be out before you know it."

Fuyuhiko relaxed his whole body and lay his head back against the bed of the pod. Relieved Hajime looked around the room to see how the others were doing. Sonia was waving at the glass below her with a smile on her face. Wait…

Hajime shouted towards her "Hey Sonia, is Akane awake!?"

"Yes, she is." Sonia looked back down at her. "Just rest for a few moments longer Akane, we will have you out in a jiffy!"

Suddenly Naegi's pod opened and he could see Kazuichi was trying to jump out. Naegi was freaking out trying to calm him down and hold him in.

Hajime just laughed, he wasn't too worried about him because they had a secret weapon, he looked towards Sonia and nodded. She smiled and nodded back.

"Do not worry Kazuichi, I am right here. Please stay in your pod."

They heard a very small whisper come from the pod. It was deep and scratchy.

"Miss Sonia?"

"Good morning, Kazuichi, I'm glad you decided to join us."

…

20 minutes passed, weirdly casual conversation was had between everyone and the people in their respective pods. The ones in the pods could barely speak so it was mostly one-sided conversation.

Eventually, each person emerged. Fuyuhiko was out first and gave Hajime a big hug, which surprised him. He never thought Fuyuhiko would show this much affection, he hugged him back and then whispered in his ear.

"You're naked dude. This is kinda gay."

Fuyuhiko then let out a raspy laugh before Hajime passed him a hospital gown.

Akane was the next one up. She actually leapt out of her pod and faced towards where Fuyuhiko and Hajime were. She had a big smile on her face and her hands on her hips. To Hajime and Sonia's surprise, she was able to stand, no problem.

"Hey guys, good to see you again!"

Both Hajime and Fuyuhiko gawked at the very fit, very well endowed and very naked Akane while Sonia desperately tried to cover her with a towel.

"Please stop Akane! You are indecent! You must put on your hospital gown!"

Fuyuhiko and Hajime looked at each other and chuckled.

"It's good to see you too Akane!"

The four of them grouped up and embraced in a big group hug. A few tears were shed from all of them.

"I missed you bastards," Fuyuhiko said.

Suddenly they heard a few footsteps behind them.

"Ah, hey guys aren't you missing someone?" Kazuichi was scratching the back of his neck nervously. Sonia got up from the group hug and went over to Kazuichi. She grabbed him by the shoulder and embraced him, hugging him tightly. She leaned her forehead against his.

"Ah, ah! Miss Sonia..."

"It is good to see you again, my friend."

She then led him over to the group hug and then they all broke down crying. They did it. They survived the killing game together, it was over, they won.

* * *

They all sat down in a circle together, Naegi and Kirigiri waved at Hajime before leaving the room, giving them some time to catch up.

Hajime and Sonia sat together on one side on the circle, Akane was on the opposite and Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi were in between. They sat there for a little bit, smiling at each other in disbelief that they were all here together. Eventually, Kazuichi spoke up.

"So ah, what happened? It seems Hajime and Miss Sonia have been awake for a while?"

"That's a good point! What the hell you two, why didn't you wake us up sooner!" Akane interjected.

"We are sorry! It is a complicated situation, Hajime and myself only woke up last night!" Sonia did her best to explain what happened after they shut down the simulation and their current predicament.

As she explained the situation Hajime watched each of them, as the euphoria of waking up was being replaced with the realization of exactly what they were. That everything that they were told in the simulation was true, that they were ultimate despair.

Eventually, the room was dead silent.

"We're pretty fucked up, huh," Fuyuhiko commented under his breath.

Suddenly he saw Akane's eyes widen and tear up. She then turned around and violently vomited onto the ground before screaming at the top of her lungs.

"NO! I DIDN'T DO THAT! IT'S NOT TRUE! I WOULDN'T! I…" Suddenly Akane dashed into a mad sprint out of the room.

"Akane!" Hajime shouted but it was no use she was already gone.

He wasn't sure what to do, he was surprised just how athletic she still seemed to be. There was no way he could chase her.

Before he could think what to do Kazuichi suddenly spoke up. "Hey, listen, I need to be alone for a little while." He then stormed off.

"He can walk too!? What the hell!" Hajime shouted.

Sonia faced towards Hajime with a determined look on his face. "We have to go after them." She said the next part very slowly. "They cannot be alone right now…"

She was right, he remembered how hard it was for him to be alone, they needed to catch up with them. They both grabbed their walking sticks and started making their way out of the room. Hajime then got a tug on his sleeve from Sonia who was looking behind them at Fuyuhiko. He was sitting on the ground with a thousand-yard stare, looking out the window.

"What about him…" Sonia muttered under her breath.

'Fuck, where are Naegi and Kirigiri when you need them!' He thought.

"It's fine. I'm fine, just go after them. I'll be here." Fuyuhiko suddenly spoke up.

"Come with us!" Hajime commented

"No, just go."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Hajime and Sonia looked at each other. They didn't like the idea of leaving him alone either, but they didn't have much of a choice. They nodded at each other and started heading downstairs.

"Split up and spread out across the island, they can't be far!" Hajime shouted.

"Right!" Sonia said determinedly.

They had to find them before it was too late, they couldn't lose their friends after they had just gotten them back.

**Hajime and Akane**

Hajime went straight to the beach. The same beach that they woke up on in the simulation and sure enough, he found Akane there. She was sitting in the sand staring off into the ocean. He slowly approached and sat down next to her. She didn't react to his presence.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, listening to the waves lap onto the shore. He wasn't sure what to say. Fortunately, Akane spoke up.

"When I heard that we were ultimate despair in the simulation I was really scared, you know? I couldn't ever imagine myself doing anything like that. When I finally accepted that I had, I figured I just killed a few people or something. But ahh… No, I did more than that…"

He thought back to the memory of the camp he helped raid. It was never as simple as just killing someone. They had to toy with them first, they had to feel despair.

"It's not you Akane… You were brainwashed, we all were. Junko Enoshima did those things, not you."

"Hey, Hajime."

"Yeah?"

"Have you wondered why I am still so fit even after the end of the world. It's not like we had easy access to food."

He was wondering that. Akane was still quite muscular, a little less than she was in the simulation, but she certainly looked more battle hardened. He couldn't count the number of scars across her body. Her hair was long, and she had tattoos across her chest and face. He hated seeing her this way, but the truth was. She looked scary.

"Did you steal food?"

Akane chuckled slightly and began to cry.

"I wish, you know what I did? Do you really want to know what I did?... I ate people Hajime."

He understood now why she threw up earlier…

"How do you come back from that?"

Hajime took a deep breath in and out, he knew exactly what to say.

"Together."

"Fuck off."

"I know it sounds stupid and cheesy but it's the truth Akane. We have all done despicable things. If I had to start repeating them here… I don't think I… What I'm trying to say is, we all know what you're going through."

"Do you really Hajime? Huh? Do you really... did you eat people? Are you a fucking cannibal Hajime?!"

"Yes."

Akane was shocked by his sudden response. She stopped staring at the ground and looked over at him.

"Izuru Kamukura, the person I was while I was despair. He was bored, he found everything predictable and hated it. So, he tried everything to entertain himself. One of those things being eating people. He… I - I ate someone."

She sat there shocked for a second, tears rolling down her face. She collapsed into his lap and started sobbing.

"How do we come back from that Hajime, how!"

"You're doing it right now Akane…"

She sobbed a little quieter.

"Me, Sonia, Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi we are all here for you. We're here for each other. No one's going to judge you for the things you did, because we have all done them. We just have to take one day at a time."

He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, she began violently sobbing into his shirt.

After a few minutes, she finally started calming down.

"Now Akane, our friends still need us. Nekomaru needs us. Nekomaru needs you! He's relying on you to save him, and if he saw you here crying, being sorry for yourself instead of getting to work, what do you think he would say?"

Akane bit her nail for a moment, thinking before answering.

"GET OFF YOUR ASS NOWWWWWWWWWW!" Akane sat up and screamed into the ocean.

"You're right Hajime, I still need to kick his ass! He must have been cheating in the simulation, but he won't beat me in real life! I'M FIRED UP!"

Akane leapt up and started doing star jumps.

"I'll have time to be sorry for myself later, right now, we need everyone to wake the fuck up! AHHHHHHH!"

'Akane is back to her old self again.' He was happy that she didn't take too much convincing. He didn't think she would, it's Akane after all. He smiled before starting to stand up.

Suddenly he was launched to the other side of the beach. Akane threw him! He landed on his side and rolled in the sand.

"What was that for!"

"Come on Hajime, be my sparring partner, I need to start training to beat Nekomaru!"

"I can barely walk Akane! I can't be your training partner!"

That's when an idea suddenly occurred to him.

"I can't be your training partner Akane, but I can help you get stronger."

She looked interested.

He yelled in the most demanding voice he could.

"Carry me back to the pod room in less than 3 minutes! GO! GO! GO!"

He saw Akane bolting towards him, he already regretted this decision. He wondered if this is what looking at a car which is about to hit you feels like. She yanked him off the ground and slung him over her shoulder running back towards the hotel.

"LET'S GO!" Akane shouted!

It hurt like hell riding on her shoulder but at least this way he could get back to Fuyuhiko quicker…

**Fuyuhiko**

They raced out of the room and he was alone.

He sat there for a while, looking back and remembering all the terrible things he'd done. But one thing that was consistent throughout all of them was her. He got up and examined each pod until he found the right one.

"Peko." He rested his hand on the glass of her pod.

Every sin, every murder, every… Everything. She was there for it all, doing it too. He never liked himself. He knew he was a piece of shit the moment he killed the girl who killed his sister. But Peko, Peko wasn't like that. She cared so much, and he failed her. He gave into despair and she continued to follow him loyally. He made her into a sadistic serial killer, just like him.

"Goddammit!" Fuyuhiko hit the glass with his fist.

A tear rolled down one of his eyes, he realized he couldn't feel the other one. He went to feel it with his hand but there was an eyepatch in the way. He looked across the room. There was a sink and a cupboard on the opposing wall with a small mirror. He slowly walked towards it, as if it was drawing him in closer. Like it was calling for him, mocking him, begging him to use it. Eventually, he got to the sink placing both his hands on the lip of it.

He looked up into the mirror to see his face. He had a bunch of scars, he looked older and tired, but he couldn't care less. There was only one thing he cared about, what was under this eyepatch.

He closed his eye preparing himself for the worst. He reached his hand up and went to pull it off. He then yanked on it as hard as he could.

"FUCK!" It didn't come off. He started panicking. How was it stuck? He pulled the top of the eyepatch down as far as he could then he saw it. Thread. He had stitched the eyepatch to his face.

"What the fuck! What am I…"

"Puhuhuhu."

He heard a laugh.

"Huh, who's there? You think you're funny!?"

He looked back into the mirror. How could he possibly get it off, she was taunting him. He couldn't get it off. That was the point.

"Puhuhuhu!"

The laughing was getting louder.

"Shut the fuck up! AHHHH!" He hated her so much, he hated what she made him become. He hated what she made Peko become.

"Puhuhuhu!"

The laughing was becoming deafening.

"Huh, you think you can beat me!? Fuck you! We won! You're dead and I'm alive!"

"Puhuhuhu!"

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UPPPPPPP!"

"PUHUHUHUHU!"

He had to stop the laughing, he had to win. He saw some bloodstained wire cutters in the sink.

**Sonia and Kazuichi**

Sonia parted ways with Hajime and went to go outside, but before she could she saw a door to her right suspiciously open. She carefully went over to see Kazuichi in a bathroom looking at himself in the mirror. He suddenly saw her reflection.

"Ahh, Miss Sonia! What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you. Is everything alright?"

He had a darkened look on his face, he then collapsed to the ground. A look of utter defeat consumed him.

"Do we really deserve to live, Miss Sonia?"

Sonia was surprised to see him so defeated. Even in the killing game, he took it easy most of the time. He didn't seem like the type to be fazed so easily, panicked sure, but not like this.

"Of course we do, Kazuichi!"

He paused for a while before leaning against one of the bathroom walls.

"As we speak my design, my Monokumas are out there right now, killing people… Even if we wake everyone up and live peaceful lives from here on out. The Monokuma's will still be out there…"

He paused, looking up towards Sonia.

"Your sins… Your mistakes… They're in the past, you can move past them. But me? They will always be around…"

She hated seeing him this way. She barely recognized the person before her. He was no longer the boy she grew a crush on. He looked a lot older, his hair was black instead of dyed pink. He had a bushy beard and was missing a few fingers. Scars covered his muscular arms and hands. He looked grizzled, like a character from a western she had once seen.

She no longer knew what to say to him. He was right. His Monokumas, some of which she had personally used, were still out there, causing chaos. He made the cuddly mascot that ended the world. All her despair was in the past, it couldn't physically hurt anyone anymore… Wait a second… In the past! She knew what to say.

"Kazuichi… You and I are the same."

He looked at her confused. She sat down next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"We both led armies, made monsters, and they killed so… so many people…"

She took a deep breath in before continuing. Still having trouble accepting everything she had done.

"But while I can never change the past or the things I have done… You can."

"I'm a good engineer Sonia but I can't make a time machine…"

She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"No, you do not need one. Because you can make things right."

Kazuichi still looked confused. He didn't understand what she was getting at.

"Your sins are out there right now. The Monokumas! You can stop them!"

His eyes lit up. He put his hand to his beard stroking it. Thinking.

"Yes… Yes, you're right! The Monokuma's may be killing machines but they still have their limits. If I could think of something… Something that could stop them. A machine of some sort."

He sat up and flexed both his arms.

"I'll stop every last one of 'em! I'm gonna save the fucking world!"

He looked back towards Sonia. Feeling a little embarrassed at his sudden outburst.

"Heh, ah thank you, Miss Sonia. I suppose compared to you guys what I've done isn't that bad huh… WAIT! I didn't mean that! What I meant to say was umm…"

Sonia giggled, maybe he was still the same goofball after all. But if she was being perfectly honest, after he cleaned up a bit, a pretty damn sexy goofball.

"I will be expecting great things from you, Kazuichi!"

He nodded.

"Right! I need to start designing some blueprints!"

He started to race out of the bathroom but paused in the doorway.

"Oh... Uh… After we save our friends, right?"

She nodded back.

"Right! Let me help you up, we should probably head back to the pod room."

**Fuyuhiko**

He placed the wire cutters under the eyepatch.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" He pulled as hard as he could. He thought he would pass out from the pain. The black thread refused to let go. He pulled harder. It didn't budge. He pulled even harder. The black thread stayed strong, but his flesh didn't. He ripped off the eye patch and all the surrounding tissue. He collapsed on to the ground, laughing.

"Fuck you, you stupid bitch! I win! I did it!"

He crawled back to the sink grabbing hold of it, pulling himself back up to the mirror. He saw what the eyepatch had been hiding. A greyish blue eye was staring him back. Bloodshot, infected and decaying. It was her eye.

"PUHUHUHUHUHHUUHUHHUHUHHUHUHUHUUHHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHHUHUHUHU

.

..

…

"You didn't think you could beat me that easily, did you?"

Fuyuhiko screamed before grabbing the wire cutters once again.

* * *

Hajime heard screaming coming from above him. It was Fuyuhiko!

"I'm guessing that's not good…" Akane commented.

"Go Akane! Go!" Hajime yelled.

"Right!" She readjusted Hajime on her shoulder. And started charging up the stairs.

Suddenly they ran into Kazhuichi and Sonia. They both looked terrified.

"Please, you have to go!" Sonia begged. They heard Fuyuhiko scream again.

Akane raced up the last flight of stairs onto the third floor. She busted open the door to the pod room and put Hajime down.

There was blood everywhere. He raced up to Fuyuhiko, adrenaline coursing through his body and spun him around.

An eye was pierced onto the tool he was holding. Blood and puss were dripping down from the empty socket. He looked pale and barely conscious.

"I win…"

He collapsed onto the ground in front of him.

Hajime just stood there in shock for a few moments. He had no idea what was going on. Suddenly Sonia's scream broke him out of his trance.

"Please help him!"

"R-Right!"

He crouched down next to Fuyuhiko and turned him over on to his back. He was bleeding badly. He didn't know what to do.

"Akane, Kazuichi you guys can walk, right? Please go find Naegi and Kirigiri! I'm guessing they are in their cabins!"

They both nodded, still looking down at Fuyuhiko's now unconscious body.

"What are you waiting for?! Go!"

They both stumbled out of the room before he heard them running down the flight of stairs.

He had to stop the bleeding somehow. He had to help him! He had no idea what to do. He started hyperventilating. He looked over towards Sonia tears were rolling down her face. She began shaking Fuyuhiko by the shoulders.

"Please wake up! Please wake up Fuyuhiko! I'm sorry we left you! I'm sorry…"

She was right, it was their fault, they shouldn't have left him by himself.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck, what do I do? What do I do? I'm useless, another one of my friends are dying in front of me and I have no idea what to do. I just want to help him. I just want… t… o…' It was like his mind was starting to go blank and then, he reappeared.

…

The bald man had always been his favourite.

On occasion, he showed him something unpredictable. That made him invaluable.

And here he was doing it again. He truly did not expect him to rip off the eyepatch and Junko's old eye. He was impressed.

"If only I had your body instead." He caressed his head.

A woman with a bow suddenly lurched backwards away from him.

"You… You are not Hajime anymore, are you… Kamukura?"

He recognized this woman, she was the blonde figure on the floor from yesterday. She was also the one in his bed last night. It seemed his prediction was correct. How boring.

"You're in love with Hajime, are you not?" She just stared back in silence.

How boring.

"Well it does not matter, I am not here for you. I am here for him." He looked down at the bald man and grabbed a first aid kit from the ground next to him.

He grabbed tweezers and gauze and went to operate. Suddenly his hand was being held by the woman with the bow.

"Do. Not. Touch. Him." Her voice was dripping with venom and disgust for him.

He looked at her, puzzled. Could she offer any entertainment? He doubted it.

"Do you want me to help him or not?"

Her deathly stare was suddenly replaced with concern for her friend. She let go of his hand and begrudgingly let him operate.

…

It didn't take long to patch him up. He wasn't in any danger of dying right away. If he were to die from that injury it would have been much later to infection. He dropped the medical supplies he was using on the ground around him and sat back into a more comfortable position. He then looked over at the woman with the bow. She had been carefully watching his every move this whole time.

They stared at each other in silence for a while. Kamukura didn't want to leave yet. He wanted to see if she could be of any use to him.

"What?" He asked.

"Leave Hajime alone…" She replied.

He could tell that she hated him with every fibre of her being. But he was in the body of the man she loved.

'Maybe she could be of some use after all.'

He heard a frenzy of footsteps coming up the stairwell. He only had a few moments before they arrived.

"Stay in my cabin tonight. I want to talk to you in private. Do it or else I start chopping off his fingers."

They opened the door and started flooding into the room, and with that, he left.

"Mac grab the first aid kits and I'll…" Kirigiri started yelling but then saw Fuyuhiko bandaged up and stable. She wasn't sure what was going on.

Hajime spoke up.

"Sorry to call you here for nothing. I fixed him up. I'll be back in a little bit." A dark shadow was cast over Hajime's face. He lost control again. He confirmed he didn't have any sway over Kamukura's actions. If he got control, he could do whatever he pleased.

Hajime got up and hobbled away with the help of his cane. He heard Sonia call out to him, but he ignored her.

* * *

He had been walking for a while, he didn't know why he just needed to get away. The sun was blasting down on him with full force. It was hot, it must have been around midday. He realized where he was. He was next to the barn.

'Out of all the things that could have stayed the same from simulation this was one of them?'

He wanted to get out of the sun, so he went inside.

There weren't any animals and the barn looked like it hadn't been used in a very long time. Sunlight was filtering through the cracked ceiling, illuminating an old bed made of tarp and sheep wool. Probably used as a resting place for the animals. It looked dirty and smelled a little, but he didn't care, he sat down on it and began to cry.

"What the fuck am I meant to do!?" He sobbed.

He had been a mass murderer for years, been through a killing game but that still wasn't enough. He had to have the issue of him not being in control of his own body anymore.

"Why me… why…"

Hajime was so tired, he had been fighting ever since the killing game started. He couldn't do it anymore. He just wanted rest, he just wanted it to end. That's when he realized she was suddenly sitting next to him.

"Why do you always seem to appear at my lowest point?"

"I don't know, maybe you always thought of me as someone you could rely on when times got tough. I mean we made a pretty good team, didn't we?"

He looked over towards her. She looked exactly the same. Pink kitty backpack, button up shirt with a ribbon and a tan skirt. She even had that sweet hoodie. She looked so… real, like he could reach out and touch her, but he knew he couldn't. That made it even harder. He began to tear up.

"Hey, hey! Don't cry, we still have a mystery to solve!"

He did his best to smile back at her, but his lips began trembling. He couldn't take this, it was so unfair.

"I'm sorry Hajime… I would hug you if I could…" She then looked towards the ceiling with her mouth slightly open, left index finger raised to it.

"We need to figure out a way to beat Kamukura. What do you think?"

"I-I don't know." He could barely speak through his tears. This was too much, way-way too much.

"Well, why don't we go over the information we already have? We know he can take over while you're unconscious but that isn't the problem. The question is how does he take over while you're conscious?"

"I already know that! I have no idea how he does it! And… and… he wants to meet Sonia tonight… If I don't figure this out… He could… He could…" He broke back down into tears.

Chiaki smiled patiently before replying.

"Well, we just have to think this through! We solved a lot of harder cases than this one, didn't we?"

'Maybe she's right…' Hajime thought to himself. 'Trying to solve how someone murdered a robot in a funhouse was probably the craziest and hardest thing I've ever done.'

"So…" Chiaki started. "We now have a third incident to help us. When he took over to help Fuyuhiko."

He forgot about Fuyuhiko. He was so worried about himself he didn't even check to see if his friend was okay.

'God I'm a selfish asshole!'

"Come on Hajime! Stay focused! What did we learn from the latest incident?"

'What did I learn… what did I learn…'

"What's a constant between the two times he's taken you over while conscious?"

He thought about the two times it had happened.

'The first time it was when Sonia was dying on the ground after leaving the simulation. The second time was just now when Fuyuhiko was on the gr…. Wait…'

Hajime's mind began racing.

'There's no way those two things are a coincidence! So, what's the catalyst! Is it seeing my friends hurt?'

"Hmm, It's not that. It seems too specific, I think."

It scared him that Chiaki was replying to his thoughts, but he figured it made sense.

"No, I think you're right. But then what is it? What else happened those two times…"

He couldn't think of anything else, was it the time of day? Him being on the ground instead of standing up? He was grasping at straws.

"Maybe we need to change our thinking. We're focusing too much on what's happening around you. Kamukura is inside you, right? So, it might be he's not actually influenced by your environment. Maybe some kind of change in your thinking or feelings?"

What was he feeling both of those times? What was he thinking?

'Think, think, think. I was feeling despair, but I felt that before and I went kinda crazy… but he didn't take over. I was feeling desperate to help my friends? But I've been desperate to help them his whole time. What else was I feeling, what else.'

"Keep thinking Hajime, I know you can do this!"

Hajime buried his hands in his face. He didn't want any distractions. What was the answer, what was he missing…?

'I wanted to help them, I wanted to save them, but I couldn't, I couldn't do anything. I felt… I felt…

.

..

…

Useless…

"That's it! I felt useless! That's the key! That's the trigger!"

It all made sense, back at hope's peak he hated himself, he hated that he was so ordinary. He wanted power, he wanted to be special, he wanted to be an ultimate. He wanted… him… Because he felt useless.

'It must be some kind of unconscious trigger that allows him to take control. He's never felt useless in his entire life. He's never not been able to do anything and that's where he comes in!'

He turned around to face Chiaki with a massive smile on his face.

"Chiaki! I figured it out! I…"

She was already gone.

He wanted to cry again. He wanted to wrap himself into a ball and forget about the world, but he knew now wasn't the time for that. He had to go find Sonia.

'Oh right…' He forgot about Fuyuhiko. He felt like an asshole again.

He got up from the bed and headed for the barn door pausing as he got there, turning around. He looked back at the spot he had been sitting. The light still illuminating it, surrounded by the darkness of the barn.

"Thank you, Chiaki… You helped me, yet again…"

He closed the door behind him and headed for the research building.

He got halfway there when he saw Sonia on the path back, she was must have been looking for him. When he approached closer, she finally spotted him.

"Hajime! Are you okay? Where did you go?"

"Hey Sonia. I'm sorry I ran off like that. Is Fuyuhiko okay?"

She gave him a quick hug before continuing.

"Yes, he is still unconscious, but he should be fine thanks to y-… him…"

She looked down at the ground and kicked some sand up off the path with her foot.

"What are we going to do Hajime? He wants to meet with me tonight…"

"Yes, I know… But I think I might have a plan."

Sonia looked up at him with a smile starting to emerge on her face.

"But before we talk about that, do you mind if we get out of this heat? The sun is killing me."

Sonia looked up a little and squinted her eyes, just noticing the intensity of the sun now.

"Yes, that is probably a good idea."

…

They both sat under the shade of a nearby tree. It was on the bank of a hill overlooking the beach.

It didn't take long for Sonia to start speaking.

"So, what is your plan Hajime?"

"Alright, so I think I have figured out how Kamukura takes over while I'm awake…

Hajime explained his thinking process and realization, leaving out the parts where he fantasised about Chiaki. Sonia listened attentively the whole time.

"You might be right Hajime! I am very happy that you seemed to have figured that problem out, but that does not help our original issue. What are we going to do tonight? He will take you over while you are unconscious."

He thought about seeing if he could stay awake, but he realized he would have to go to sleep eventually. He thought about telling her not to come. Maybe Kamukura was bluffing? He knew that wasn't the case, but he wished it was. He also knew that Sonia would come no matter what he told her. Fortunately, he had an idea.

"Yes, but I think there is a simple solution to that," Hajime said smiling.

Sonia turned her head to the side inquisitively.

"Handcuffs! He may be incredibly intelligent, but he is still limited to the physical restraints of my body."

Sonia seemed a little shocked at that answer at first but eventually started nodding her head in agreement.

"Could it really be that simple?" Sonia asked worriedly.

"I just don't see any scenario where he manages to escape them, but it isn't full proof, there's still a major problem."

Hajime continued.

"He may be tied up, but he could still hurt my body. He wouldn't need his hands to do that. We could tie him up completely but… I know he could pull it off, somehow. He would find some way to hurt me…"

Sonia thoughtfully nodded in agreement.

"Alright we shall tie you up and I will meet with him tonight, but where do we get handcuffs? We cannot ask for them without raising suspicion."

Hajime had a plan for that as well.

"Are you sure about that?"

Hajime then whispered something in Sonia's ear. Her face turned a bright red.

"Hajime! That is… I don't know if I… Can you not do it?"

"I could if you feel that embarrassed about it, but I think you have a better chance of getting them than I do."

Sonia did not like this plan. Not one bit, but she didn't see any other option.

"Fine…" She said with her head lowered, defeated.

Hajime patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks Sonia, I'll owe you one."

She stayed quiet for a while longer. They both stared out towards the ocean.

After a few minutes, Sonia spoke.

"What happened to Fuyuhiko was our fault…"

He forgot about him again! He kept only thinking about himself, he was disgusted with his own mentality.

"God, you're right. We knew we shouldn't leave him alone, but we did anyway…"

"We are terrible people. We let one of our friends get hurt and it was all our fault."

They both sat there, guilty, unsure of what to do to remedy the situation. Suddenly they heard a voice behind them.

"You shouldn't blame yourselves for that, it was our fault too."

They both turned around in surprise. Akane was behind them with Kazuichi in tow.

She sat down next them and Kazuichi leaned against the tree.

"If we hadn't run off. You would have been able to keep him safe. I'm really sorry about that." Kazuichi said kicking a pebble away.

"No! You two had just woken up. It is our responsibility to keep everyone safe we.." Before Sonia could finish that sentence Akane interrupted.

"Since when is it your responsibility to take care of us?"

Hajime and Sonia looked at each other surprised. "Huh?"

"Yeah, we're all in this together remember?" Kazuichi commented.

"We were all despair, we all did awful things and probably the whole world hates us. That's why we gotta look out for each other! You know?" Akane said with an unashamed smile.

Hajime looked down at his feet. They had been telling them that and they meant it but… Maybe they didn't think about themselves in that equation. He was going to support and comfort everyone as much as he could but he didn't think about needing support himself, at least not outside of Sonia.

He smiled, they were right.

Hajime turned around to face Sonia, she smiled back. It seemed they had reached a similar conclusion.

"Hey, thanks, guys… Since when were you two such softies, huh?"

Kazuichi and Sonia laughed but Akane looked pissed.

"You calling me weak Hajime!?" She said cracking her knuckles.

"Wait no I didn't mean it like…"

"I'll show you just how strong I am!"

She began racing towards him.

Hajime regretted every life choice he made up to this point since it led him to this situation.

He tried to crawl away, but he knew it would be to no avail.

"PLEASE AKANE! IM SORRY!"

"You will be!"

She tackled him to the ground and put him in a headlock.

He looked towards Sonia and Kazuichi for help, but they just laughed.

'Traitors…'

He tapped on her elbow, and she let him go.

Akane roared with laughter and even Hajime smiled a little.

He liked this, it was no longer just him and Sonia. They had more people to rely on, more people for back up. They were a team, and they were determined to save everyone. Before they could do that though, there was still the problem of Fuyuhiko.

Hajime got up and signalled everyone in for a group huddle. The all locked arms together around each other's shoulders.

"Alright, game plan! Make sure Fuyuhiko is okay, get some of our strength back, save all our friends and then we party!"

They all smiled at his plan. It was far too simple and optimistic but that's what they needed to hear right now.

"Alright!" Sonia put her hand in the middle of the circle, indicating everyone to do the same. Her eyes were sparkling. "This is my first time in a group huddle!"

Hajime smiled, he liked how she enjoyed the little things he would often take for granted.

"Alright, everyone! On three, fuck Junko and fuck despair!" Kazuichi said pumping his fist.

"1"

"2"

"3"

"Fuck Junko and fuck despair!" They all shouted raising their hands into the air.

It was official they were in this together, they all smiled at each other. They had each other's backs just like they did in the killing game. Now's the time to act, now's the time to do right and they knew the first place to start was making sure Fuyuhiko was okay.


	4. Silver Linings

Hajime sat on a rickety chair next to Fuyuhiko's bed. They moved him here after he passed out. They were in the research centre, in what looked like a mini-clinic of some sorts.

He had been there for about an hour now, Sonia sat on the opposite side of Fuyuhiko's bed, waiting for him to wake up. Kazuichi and Akane were getting cleaned up and a tour of the island from Naegi and Kirigiri. It was dead silent as they brooded over their mistake. Suddenly a marching of boots came down the hallway as someone entered the room. It was Togami.

"Well, I see he hasn't woken up yet. It is… unfortunate what happened to him…"

Hajime didn't need to look, he could tell a cocky grin was attaching itself to his face.

"I hope you have both learned your lesson."

They stayed silent. Suddenly Sonia spoke up with an emotionless voice.

"Togami may I ask you a question?" She had a scowl on her face as she looked towards Fuyuhiko.

"Oh? I don't know if I have time for th-"

Sonia cut him off.

"Why did you wake up Hajime and myself first?" Sonia continued to scowl down at Fuyuhiko's bed and Togami looked slightly panicked. "You said it was not by chance, so why?"

"Well… ah, someone had to wake up first, so why not you two?"

Sonia still hadn't moved, he didn't like seeing her like this, she didn't look like herself.

"You are lying."

Togami's paused for a second before he reverted to his usual cocky grin.

"Very well, are you sure you want the truth? You won't like it."

Sonia nodded slightly. Hajime was still trying to figure out what was going on.

"I was sick of waiting for you people to wake up so I decided to start playing around with the simulation to see what would happen. I tried minor things at first, adjusting the time of day, simulating loud noises and bright lights to go off at intervals but it didn't seem to do anything, so… I gave up."

"What do you mean you gave up?" Hajime was even more confused, he looked over at Sonia. She still hadn't moved a muscle, in fact, her scowl looked even deeper now.

'Does she know something I don't?'

"You heard me right, I gave up. I figured the project was a bust and the Neo World Program failed with the interference of the virus you injected into it."

"Oh…" Hajime forgot about that.

"I didn't want to be stuck watching over you all for any longer, so I decided to take things into my own hands and make the difficult decision of shutting the simulation down."

'What does he mean difficult decision?' Hajime looked over at him, he couldn't believe it, his massive cocky grin was even bigger and cockier.

"You weren't waking up so I decided it would be better for everyone if I put you out of your misery. I thought I would start with the two most despicable and evil people in the class, to make sure they didn't wake up."

Hajime froze in shock for a second before whispering. "Y-you tried to kill us?..."

"Yes… I figured I could kill you all off slowly, a few at a time to not raise suspicion. But…

I never expected that it would wake you up! Oh, life is full of surprises!"

Hajime could barely believe what he was hearing.

"What the fuck is wrong with you! After everything we have been through, you tried to kill us! After all we have suffered!?"

Togami looked over at him with nothing but contempt in his eyes.

"Please do not worry Hajime, I will sort this issue out..." Sonia interrupted. She had a patient smile on her face, but her eyes looked like there was nothing but rage behind them.

Hajime gritted his teeth. He wanted to hit him. Sonia then looked back over to Togami.

"Would I be correct in assuming that you do not want to see us recover as Naegi and Kirigiri do?"

He paused considering his answer.

"No… In normal society, psychotic murderers are locked away or executed. I feel no pity for you people, you're the ones who fell to despair. **It's your fault.**"

Hajime could only see red. He wanted to hurt him. He wanted to see him suffer as they did. He got up from his chair and started scrambling towards him. Before he got close enough to hit him Sonia grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back.

"Look at him Hajime! This is what he wants! Please calm down!"

'This is what he…' Hajime looked at his face, a cocky smile was still plastered across it.

"If you attack him then he will have a stronger case against us. That we are not free of despair. He is trying to trick you."

"What!? He's trying to bait me into hitting him!?"

Sonia tugged harder at his waist pulling him back more.

"Yes!"

Hajime was seething with rage. He had to hit him, he had to. How could he say that about them? About his friends? At that moment Hajime promised himself that at some point he would, but for now, he realized that Sonia was right. He shook her off and sat back down on his chair with a moue.

"Fucking asshole."

Sonia sighed with relief and looked back towards Togami. He looked slightly annoyed and happy at the same time.

"Very well-done princess! It seems I have underestimated you!"

Sonia lost her composure letting a look of hatred and anger through before quickly regaining it.

"Thank you for your honesty Togami. If you do not mind, I would like to be alone with my friends now."

She curtsied as she said it.

He realized she was trying to keep up appearances, but it pissed him off she was treating him with such respect.

"Very well. I will take my leave. Maybe I'll see what else I can do to the simulation… See if I can't help wake up the rest of your friends!" He let out a small chuckle.

Sonia's face was no longer composed. She was angry. Very angry. She raced forward and grabbed Togami by the collar.

She said nothing, just staring him in the eyes. Togami looked genuinely scared. Hajime was too, he had never seen her like this.

After a few moments, she let him go and sat back down on her chair before speaking.

"Thank you, Togami, please let us know if any of them wake up but please be careful. If something were to happen to them, we would probably fall back into despair… Then there is no knowing what would happen."

Sonia stared at Togami while speaking, his cocky expression turned into a scowl.

"Is that a threat?"

"Of course not! I know you and I are both so determined to keep our friends safe neither of us would want to see them get hurt…"

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, finally Togami adjusted his glasses, a big grin emerging on his face.

"Well played princess. I look forward to speaking with you again."

"I do not share the sentiment," Sonia replied with an empty smile.

Togami chuckled and exited the room.

Sonia breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed onto Fuyuhiko's hand. She looked longingly onto his unconscious body before tearing up. She quickly hid her face and wiped away her tears with her wrists.

"Hajime, we cannot trust that man. He is our enemy."

Hajime nodded in agreement.

"If he hates us so much, why did he agree to save us in the first place?"

Sonia looked toward the corner of the room thinking, before replying.

"I do not know. It may be as simple as loyalty. He was in a killing game with Naegi and Kirigiri, their bonds must run deep. Deep enough that he can put his own personal prejudices aside… for the most part..."

Hajime started biting his thumbs nail. He always had that habit when thinking hard. What could they do about Togami? Was he just puffing his chest to scare them? Or does he really hate them all so much that he would jeopardise everything Naegi and Kirigiri worked for just so he could see them dead?

"Ow…"

Hajime looked up. Fuyuhiko had his eye open!

"Fuyuhiko! Are you okay?" Hajime leaned up on the bed trying to get a better look at him. His right eye was covered in bandages. He looked pale and his face still had smudges of blood on it. He also had tattoo sleeves up both his arms and about as many scars as Akane.

"I just ripped out a fucking eye. What do you think?"

Hajime got a slight smile. He was happy he was sounding like himself at least.

"I-I am… I am…"

Sonia was sobbing uncontrollably next to him. She could barely speak. Doing her best to wipe away tears from her face.

"I am sorry!"

Sonia hid her face behind her hands.

Fyuhiko slowly sat up and looked out a window while speaking.

"She got to me… It was like she was laughing at me. Taunting me. She enjoyed knowing I would suffer if I was ever free of her grasp…"

Fuyuhiko held out his hands and stared down at them.

"It felt like she still had sway over me, but now…" He closed his hands into fists. "Now I'm free."

Fuyuhiko wrapped his arm around Sonia's back and brought her in for a hug.

"Listen, Sonia, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't either of yours. I did this to myself. I freaked out when I woke up, I forgot I attached Junko's eye to my fucking face. So yeah, I got a little upset but it's out now and honestly, I would do it again. I had to beat her. So, don't sweat it. My only goal now is waking up Peko and everyone else."

Sonia's crying eased a little.

"You are far too kind Fuyuhiko…"

Sonia leaned back into her seat and slowly stopped crying.

"Dude…" Hajime sat back into his chair as well.

"You had us so worried… Why do you always have to take things to such extremes? First, you run into the middle of Peko's execution, then you slit open your stomach, now this? You…"

Hajime felt a little cheesy saying the next part.

"really are the ultimate Yakuza…"

Fuyuhiko sat up in his bed and smiled at them both, taking a big breath in and out.

"So, how's Akane and Kazuichi?"

Hajime and Sonia both explained how they were and what they were doing. When they finished explaining everything Fuyuhiko got out of bed and started heading to the bathroom.

"I need to piss and take a shower, but before I do who do I have to thank for fixing me up?"

Sonia and Hajime both looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Fuyuhiko must have noticed the tension and spoke up again.

"Cat got your tongues? What's the problem? Who fixed me up?"

Hajime was trying to think this situation through. He trusted Fuyuhiko but were there any negative consequences if he told him about Kamukura? Could someone be listening? What if he accidentally let it slip. He didn't have enough time to think. Fuyuhiko was right there and wanted an answer now.

"I did," Sonia replied suddenly.

Fuyuhiko looked at her with confusion wondering if she was lying but couldn't figure out a reason why she would.

"Ah… Okay thanks, I didn't know you had medical skills…"

Sonia smiled back.

"Right… well, I'll catch up with you guys later."

Fuyuhiko entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

Sonia and Hajime let out a sigh before relaxing into their chairs. He wasn't sure why she lied, they would probably get caught out eventually, but she bought them some time to think about what they should do. So that was something.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Hajime, Sonia, Kazuichi, Akane and eventually Fuyuhiko all spent time together. Hajime and Sonia still couldn't walk properly without their canes and the others gave them a hard time because of that. Akane eventually helped them out, showing them exercises and stretches they could do to help their muscles develop quicker.

They spent the day chatting about nice memories they had with their friends. They were desperately trying to act normal. To try and forget that they were all despair for years, that they were all fucked up in various ways and a lot of them would never fully recover. They knew they would have to deal with their trauma eventually but for now, they just wanted to act normal enough. As time passed, the anxiety grew for Hajime and Sonia as they knew what was waiting for them tonight. A showdown with Kamukura.

* * *

It was evening. They all had dinner together consisting of canned spaghetti on toast and more disgusting health drinks. Sonia and Hajime did their best to ignore the presence of Togami at the table, but they could feel his smug aura the entire time. Eventually, they started separating. Fuyuhiko, Akane and Kazuichi all went back to their cabins. Sonia and Hajime asked if they would be okay being on their own, but they all insisted that they would be. The didn't like it, they felt like they were making the same mistake they made with Fuyuhiko… but they decided to trust them.

Everyone but Hajime, Sonia, Naegi and Kirigiri had left. Hajime was giving Sonia a rundown on everything he knew about Kamukura. It was really hard talking about all the different memories he had but it helped to have Sonia there comforting him. It also felt good to talk about it, even if he didn't want to. He made sure to tell her about Kamukura and Chiaki's interaction as he remembered it affected him. Eventually, he ran out of things to say and they sat there in silence for a little while.

"Hajime there is something I have been pondering for some time now…"

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I still do not understand how Chiaki was in the simulation with us..."

"Oh, Naegi didn't tell you? Apparently, she was recreated from our memories as a moral support of sorts… I guess she did her job pretty well, huh?"

It hurt just talking about her, but at the same time, he really enjoyed it.

"Oh, I see! That is rather Sci-Fi, is it not?" Sonia said grinning.

Hajime let out a small chuckle before replying. "I suppose it is! I bet the real Chiaki would have loved to know she became an A.I."

Sonia sighed longingly and rested her hand on her cheek.

"I believe you are right. I wish I could have told her she was in a game, of sorts…"

"Yeah…"

The atmosphere changed rather rapidly as the ghost of their friend lingered.

"I'm glad I got to spend time with her in the simulation… Even if it was… difficult." Hajime commented. He spent some time with her at Hope's Peak but it wasn't enough, it still wasn't, but he was happy that he at least got some time with her. Or at least something like her.

Sonia furrowed her brow and replied.

"I am surprised you would say such a thing Hajime. I am very sad that anyone had to be a part of that…"

Hajime waved his hands in front of him frantically trying to take back what he said. "Oh, that's not what I meant… It's just that… It was nice seeing her again."

Sonia still didn't like what he was saying. She would have preferred that she wasn't there in the first place, so she didn't have to suffer with them. Sonia sighed, there was no point arguing. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. It was 11:37. Realizing they didn't have a lot of time left Hajime and Sonia nodded in agreement to put their plan into action.

"Good luck Sonia!" Hajime had a massive grin on his face. He felt bad about making her do this but at the same time found it really entertaining.

Sonia, on the other hand, wondered if this was the most embarrassing thing she had ever done. After mulling it over for a few seconds she concluded that it was. She got up with a massive sigh, her cheeks already a little red.

"Just lay on that princess charm!" Hajime joked while winking and giving her finger guns.

She stared daggers back, but he continued to laugh. Maybe she shouldn't be so worried about this and see the humour in it… She tried, she couldn't. She was still embarrassed and annoyed as she went downstairs.

…

Naegi and Kirigiri were both sitting on the couch together. Kirigiri was sitting sideways on Naegi's lap with her hands around his neck. When she saw Sonia, she leapt off and looked down at the ground, embarrassed. Naegi laughed and called Sonia over.

'Here we go...'

Sonia sat down across from them on the opposite couch.

"Good evening."

"Hey Sonia, how are you going!?" Naegi said with a grin. Sonia was often surprised at just how friendly he was.

"I am good, thank you, what are you two up to?"

Kirigiri looking flustered suddenly spoke up.

"We were just talking about…"

Kirigiri got bright red in the face but tried to hold her composure as hard as she could. Naegi, on the other hand, started laughing while hugging and kissing her on the cheek.

"Wow, that was really smooth! Actually, we were discussing where to go on our next date."

Naegi said with a big smile which quickly turned into an even bigger frown as Kirigiri elbowed him in the ribs making him coil over in pain.

Kirigiri stewed in her anger for a second before speaking up.

"Well, in any case, I suppose I shouldn't be embarrassed about going out on a date…"

"Then why did you elbow me?" Naegi said through gritted teeth still working through the pain.

Kirigiri elbowed him again. Naegi fell onto the floor.

Sonia found the whole exchange rather amusing which helped her nerves. Kirigiri did a small cough before continuing.

"What about you? What are you and Hinata up to?"

She realized she wasn't going to get a better chance than this.

"Ah yes, well about that…"

Sonia looked towards the ground and gulped. She couldn't believe she was going through with this.

"We were wondering if you have any handcuffs, we could borrow…"

They both looked at her with confusion not exactly sure what she was asking.

"Why do you need handcuffs?" Kirigiri asked.

Sonia simply smiled back hoping they would understand the implication.

At the same time, both their eyes went wide.

"Oh, wow! Sonia. Ah… I didn't realize you and Hinata were like that." Naegi said scratching the back of his neck and looking down at the floor.

She looked up at Kirigiri. She was fidgeting with her hands and swaying slightly side to side. She wasn't sure if she had ever seen someone so uncomfortable.

"Could you not… Do without them?" Kirigiri asked.

This was even worse than Sonia imagined. She recoiled to think how their opinion of her had changed so rapidly.

"It is… very important to us that we have those handcuffs…"

Both Naegi and Kirigiri looked at her with stunned silence. Trying to process what was going on.

"I see…" Kirigiri got up and exited out the front door.

Sonia wasn't sure if she was leaving because she didn't want to be a part of this conversation anymore or leaving to get the handcuffs. Realizing how awkward the situation was, Naegi got up and quickly followed.

A few minutes later Kirigiri came back into the building holding a brown paper bag. She handed it to Sonia while shyly looking away.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of… Just… Make sure to be… safe…"

Sonia looked in the bag. There were two sets of handcuffs and birth control.

A part of Sonia died that night.

"Thank you, we will."

She quickly left the building and headed for Hajime's cabin. She heard Naegi's uproarious laughter from the hotel as she left.

* * *

Sonia pushed open the door and slammed it behind her. Hajime was sitting on the bed waiting for her. He giggled as she entered. She shoved the paper bag into his chest knocking him over. She then got into the bed and hid under the covers.

Hajime patted the lump of Sonia under the blankets.

"You did a great job. I'm really proud of you."

He emptied the contents of the plastic bag onto the bed. There were two sets of handcuffs, condoms, lube and a box of birth control pills.

Hajime put his hand on the back of his head and awkwardly laughed.

"Well, it looks like they bought it."

He could hear Sonia softly headbutting the bed. He started feeling bad for her, but he thought of something that might cheer her up.

"Hey, Sonia… can I make you a coffee? You're probably going to be up for a while and you made me one earlier so, I would really like to. If you'll let me. "

"…Okay." He heard her whisper from under the covers.

He was excited to do this for her. He wanted to make her feel better and he thought this would be a nice gesture. Also, after tasting the abomination that she served him he wanted to show her what normal coffee tasted like.

He headed over to the kitchen and started making it.

* * *

She slammed the door behind her and hid under the covers. She couldn't let him see her crying. She was embarrassed and felt humiliated but that's not what upset her. It was the reminder. A reminder of what's not, of what she couldn't have, of what she would never be.

"You did a great job. I'm really proud of you."

It hurt… She felt like she was going to drown in this feeling.

"Well, it looks like they bought it!"

It hurt more…

She was going to throw up. She couldn't. She didn't want him to know. She wasn't exactly sure why. She didn't want anyone to know about this. She felt embarrassed and humiliated by it. Like she failed somehow, that it was her fault. Her thoughts were interrupted when Hajime spoke.

"Hey, Sonia… can I make you a coffee? You're probably going to be up for a while and you made me one earlier so, I would really like to. If you'll let me. "

'He has a very kind heart…' Sonia thought to herself.

"…Okay."

She did her best to calm herself down. Now wasn't the time to feel sorry about herself. Eventually, she got the courage to emerge from the blankets.

* * *

Sonia sat up in the bed, her legs still covered with bedsheets as Hajime gave her a cup of coffee.

She was excited to see what kind of coffee he could make! She took a sip and resisted the urge to gag.

'Ježiš, hovno, suka! This is dreadful!'

It was the sweetest thing she'd ever had. Sweeter than candy. She wondered if he put any coffee in and not just sugar.

"Thank you, Hajime. I needed this." She knew how to sound convincing after years of keeping up appearances as a princess.

Hajime sat down across from her on his desk chair and smiled resting his head on his hand. He looked tired.

"Today's been a good day, all things considered…"

"I suppose you are right. I'm so happy our friends are okay… mostly."

"Yeah… Still wish that didn't happen to Fuyuhiko, but he's tough, he'll be alright."

Sonia nodded thoughtfully.

They both knew what was coming next, neither of them were looking forward to it. Sonia finished her coffee, she didn't enjoy it, but it was a mild distraction from the anxiety. So, it would do.

"So, how are we doing this?" Sonia asked looking down at the stained cup.

Hajime pointed toward the bathroom.

"Handcuff me around the sink. It should hold… I think."

Sonia thought for a moment before replying.

"I do not agree with that plan Hajime. I believe we should make use of both the handcuffs and tie you down to the headboard of the bed. It will also make it more difficult for Kamukura to hurt you."

"I thought about that too, but what about you? Where will you sleep? Will you walk back to your cabin to when you're done?"

Sonia rubbed her arm.

"He specifically said to stay in your cabin tonight. I believe I will need to sleep here. I can use the floor if necessary..."

Hajime didn't like that idea at all.

"Sonia there is no way I'm letting a princess sleep on the floor!"

"Hajime… I do not need protecting."

She looked determined and unflinching as she spoke.

"This is hardly a deterrent when compared with everything else we have been through."

'I suppose she's right.' Hajime thought to himself, but he still felt like an asshole for it.

Sonia got up and stumbled her way to the kitchen. She stood next to the fridge about to open it.

"Hajime, may I make myself some food while I'm here?"

"Go for it, knock yourself out."

Sonia's eyes sparkled. He realised she only just learnt what that meant, she was happy to be able to hear it organically.

"I shall knock myself out!" Sonia said slicing the air in front of her.

…

Sonia had some cheese on crackers. She used to have them often back in Novoselic, so she enjoyed the reminder of home. The cheese was stale, but she wanted something savoury after having what felt like a kilo of sugar in her coffee. Suddenly they got a knock at the front door.

"Hey, Hajime? I know I said I would be fine by myself but… I ah… I don't know now. Can I come in?"

It was Akane. She sounded anxious, which was very rare for her.

Sonia and Hajime looked at each other. They would have to explain the situation if they let her in, but they knew there was no way they would leave her alone.

"Please, come in Akane!" Sonia called out to her.

Akane entered the room, she was in a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants.

"Hey! I wanted some company but not that kind of company!" She pointed at the paraphernalia that was in the paper bag.

They both facepalmed forgetting that was there.

"It's not what it looks like Akane, we need to explain what's going down tonight…"

Hajime explained being taken over by Kamukura, how he requested a meeting with Sonia and their plan with the handcuffs. Although she was still confused, she seemed to understand enough to get the gist of what was going on.

…

"Jeez, that really sucks for you, huh," Akane said scratching the side of her head.

"I… suppose you are right…" Hajime replied with a nervous laugh, he wished she could have phrased that nicer.

They got another abrupt knock at the door.

"Umm… Hajime… Could I come in? I don't want to be alone… I tried to knock on Miss Sonia's door, but she didn't seem to be there."

Hajime sighed with exasperation. "Come on in dude."

Kazuichi slowly opened the door to be greeted by Akane and Sonia waving at him. He nervously waved back not expecting anyone else to be there.

"Guess I wasn't the first one with this idea, huh?"

He was wearing purple boxes and a black t-shirt. He also seemed to have found a black beanie that covered most of his hair.

"Hajime…"

He looked over towards Kazuichi's face. A dark scowl had formed, he wasn't sure if he had ever seen Kazuichi look so sinister.

"Tell me exactly what you were planning on doing tonight with Miss Sonia…" Kazuichi said in a low, slow voice pointing at the paper bag contents.

"Oh goddammit!" He forgot to put them away again.

…

After putting everything but the handcuffs away and carefully explaining the situation to Kazuichi he finally started to calm down.

"Oh okay, I get it… Still though! How dare you make Miss Sonia do something so… so… un-princess like!"

Hajime was about to answer when he heard another knock at the door. He already knew who it was, with a large sigh he told him to come in. Not looking forward to explaining the situation a third time.

…

"Huh, I knew you fuckers were lying to me… Whatever." Fuyuhiko said with a grimace.

"We apologise Fuyuhiko, we were unsure what to do at the time." Said Sonia.

Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue and looked away. He was still wearing his normal clothes. Which were simple black gym shorts and a white singlet. Half his face was still covered in bandages.

"So, when are you going to start?" Fuyuhiko asked.

Sonia and Hajime looked at each other and shrugged.

"Whenever we want… I guess." Hajime replied.

"So… should we stay and help?" Akane suddenly spoke up.

Hajime was surprised, they hadn't really considered that.

"Yeah! I don't want you hurting Miss Sonia!" Kazuichi shouted pointing an accusing finger at Hajime.

Sonia's eyes sparkled as she slammed her fist against her hand.

"Then let us have a sleepover! We shall battle Kamukura together!"

"That's not a bad idea…" Hajime muttered to himself. His main concern isn't what Kamukura could do physically to Sonia but mentally. So, having everyone here to help may be a good thing.

They all nodded in agreement.

"Alright, we shall all head back to our cabins and grab necessities. Before meeting back here! Let us make haste!" Sonia declared.

* * *

They were all back in the cabin within 20 minutes carrying a bunch of pillows and blankets. Their plan was to craft some make-shift beds, so they all had something to sleep on. Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi set up their beds near the kitchen, Sonia and Akane set theirs on the opposite side near the bathroom. Sonia had had a shower and brushed her hair while she was gone, she also replaced her normal clothing with a stark white nightgown to the great satisfaction of Kazuichi, who couldn't stop staring.

"I have never been to a sleepover before! I am very excited!"

Sonia was in a far better mood than she was before and so was Hajime. They all enjoyed being close to one another. The night-time was always the worst, that's when they were alone with their thoughts. Memories of despair would invade their minds, corrupt them, toy with them. No one wanted to be alone with that.

"We're about to take on the most talented person in the world who is in the body of one of our friends… I haven't been to a sleepover either, but I don't think this is how they are meant to go." Fuyuhiko commented.

"In any case! I am still having fun!" Sonia cheered.

Her positivity was infectious. Eventually, everyone seemed to be having some degree of fun. They wondered how things with Kamukura were going to go and joked around asking questions like is he really the ultimate romantic? What if he starts giving really good dating advice?

Hajime didn't like how casually they were taking this.

…

Eventually, they all looked towards Hajime, ready. He wasn't looking forward to this part. They took both his hands and handcuffed him to opposite ends of the headboard. He tugged on both of his arms confident that they should hold.

"Alright, are you sure you're ready for this?" Hajime asked.

They all looked at each other and smiled.

"No offence Hajime but I think the four of us can take you on no problem. Genius or not." Akane replied with a big grin.

Hajime didn't like that answer. They were underestimating him… But Hajime didn't see any point arguing, so he nodded back at them. They turned off the lights and waited for him to fall asleep.

* * *

Sonia was nervous as they all huddled together at the foot of the bed. Making a small semi-circle directed at Hajime. Kazuichi must have sensed her anxiety and grabbed onto her hand smiling. She smiled back before getting everyone else to hold hands. They tried to stay as calm as possible as they waited for Kamukura to arrive.

"So how long is this going to take?" Fuyuhiko asked.

Sonia looked toward him raising her index finger to her lips trying to get him to be quiet. She looked back toward Hajime and he had his eyes open. He was staring at Fuyuhiko with a cold stare. Sonia's hands began shaking and her heart started to race.

"Hey! Go back to sleep Hajime, we're still waiting for Kamukura!"

He turned away from Fuyuhiko, giving Akane a bored stare.

"Idiot…"

Everyone let go of each other's hands scared at the new reality that faced them. They were looking back at what they were. A sick reminder of what they used to be, and they couldn't hide, they couldn't run, they had to face it. At that moment none of them knew what to do, simply staring at what used to be Hajime in stunned silence.

Sonia realized that she was the reason everyone was here, and she had to take responsibility for that. She wanted to run so badly but she wasn't going to let Hajime get hurt. She wondered if she would have fled if she was by herself, happy that the others were here with her. Finally, she got the courage to speak.

"Hello, Kamukura. I am here, what do you want with me?"

He didn't even take notice of what she said. He looked around slowly scanning each of them up and down, Sonia had never felt so exposed before. Like he was looking into each of their lives with a simple glance.

Kamukura tugged at the handcuffs attached to the bed, not trying to escape, simply taking note that they were there. He paused for a few moments gathering his thoughts. Finally, he spoke.

"Man, in Beanie, who are you?"

Kazuichi noticed just how scared Sonia was and stepped forward trying to do his best to get in between Kamukura and Sonia. Unfortunately, his words didn't exactly reflect this bravery.

"I… I am Kazuichi Soda, and don't you forget it, you… you… monster!"

Kamukura didn't acknowledge his reply, simply turning his head and looking straight at Fuyuhiko. Sonia could have sworn she saw a small smile come across his face.

"Fuyuhiko Kuzuruyu, was it? It's been a long time."

Fuyuhiko bit his bottom lip and looked and him with disgust.

"Fuck off…"

Before anyone could reply to Fuyuhiko's remark Akane spoke up.

"Hey! So, you're Kamukura, right? Leave Hajime alone or I'll beat the shit out of you!"

Kamukura turned his head straight toward Akane at lightning speed giving Sonia a fright. He jolted his upper body toward her, trying to get closer. He tried to shake off the handcuffs but realized it was no use. He sat back down and rested his back against the headboard.

"Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu I have an offer for you…"

Fuyuhiko raised his eyebrow.

"What do you want?"

"Kill Akane Owari and I promise to revive Peko Pekoyama for you."

It took a few moments for everyone to realize what he just said.

Sonia was scared.

She wasn't scared by what Kamukura said or how he just tried to lunge at Akane, she was scared because Akane looked terrified. She had never seen her so frightened. Akane always thought that she could fight all her problems. While it wasn't an exactly healthy attitude it did help during the killing game as she never gave up and wanted to fight Monokuma to the very end. So, to see her scared and trembling in fear scared Sonia more than anything else.

"W-What?!... Y… you… revive Peko?" Fuyuhiko stuttered.

That's all he heard. He didn't hear the request he made, all he heard was that Kamukura just said he can bring back his best friend in the world. One he thought he had already lost. Fuyuhiko just stared ahead, his mind racing.

"What do you mean revive Pekoyama? You know how to wake up our friends?"

Sonia asked without really meaning to. She was in awe; does he really know how to?

"Yes."

"H-How…?" Kazuichi stammered.

Kamukura looked toward him with the same look he gave Akane. He then tugged with all his might at his left arm, trying to get free of the handcuff. They all watched with suspense wondering if it would hold. Thankfully it did. He gave up and relaxed again, turning to face Sonia.

"Sonia Nevermind, kill this Kazuichi Soda and I will revive a person of your choosing as well."

'W-What?' Sonia just realized what he was asking. He just asked them to kill their friends! Why would he do that?

"We're not killing anyone you piece of shit! Who do you think you are? Who do you think we are?" Fuyuhiko screamed with his fist raised at him.

"We do not kill our friends!" Sonia said as confidently as she could.

"But you have already killed each other before in the simulation, have you not?"

They all looked away unsure of how to answer.

"T-that was different…" Sonia muttered under her breath.

"You're right, you didn't kill anyone in the simulation, did you? But you already killed thousands before that, all of you have. What's one more?"

Sonia realized just how terrifying this person was. She felt stupid for thinking that by being brave and facing him together would be enough. She started tearing up.

"Why do you want us dead?" Akane suddenly spoke. She had seemed to regain some of her composure. Possibly seeing that their planned work and he was trapped on the bed may have been of comfort.

Kamukura stared back at her and then turned to face Kazuichi before answering.

"You're boring. Both of you. Utterly boring. I can tell you two offer me nothing. **Go die**."

They all stood and stared at him. How were they meant to reply to that? They were just waiting for him to go away. Any plan of outsmarting or beating him was out the window. They just wanted this to be over.

That was until Kazuichi stepped forward.

He went next to the bed Kamukura was trapped on and leaned down next to his face. Sonia was shocked at Kazuichi's sudden act of bravery. She was kind of impressed but a little scared.

"Kazuichi, please be careful!" Sonia called over to him. He was only a few feet away from her, but it felt like miles.

"Kamukura… How do we revive our friends, tell us."

He was calm and confident, nothing like the Kazuichi she knew. Seeing him such little fear gave her Sonia a small confidence boost as well.

"No."

Kazuichi slowly nodded and stroked his beard while standing up. Suddenly, with full force, he went to punch Kamukura in the stomach.

Kamukura moved at lightning speed, dodging his attack and then flipping his legs around kicking Kazuichi in the face.

It all happened in a split second, no one could react in time, but somehow Kazuichi did. He took the bottom of Kamukura's heel to his nose, Sonia saw a flurry of red shoot out as it made contact. She was about to run over to help when she realized he was holding his ankle.

Kazuichi yanked it making Kamukura half fall off the bed. His arms still handcuffed around the headboard. Kamukura wildly flailed his other leg trying to hit him but it was no use, he was in no position to fight him.

Kazuichi held both his legs down over the edge of the bed. Kamukura was being forced to awkwardly stretch his body down on an angle across the mattress. After that, he stopped struggling and once Kazuichi was confident he had hold of him, he spoke.

"Hey Akane, Fuyuhiko, mind helping me with this? Can you hold him down while I fix up my nose?"

Everyone was shocked by the sudden turn of events, they both raced over and pinned down his legs holding them in place. Kazuichi got up and clutched his nose, clearly in a lot of pain.

"Ah… Dammit."

Sonia raced over to assess the damage.

"Kazuichi! What were you thinking?! You could have gotten hurt! You did get hurt! Please let me help. There is a first aid kit over here."

Sonia pulled him by the forearm towards the bathroom. Kazuichi spoke as they were heading there.

"Sorry guys, this will only take a sec. Just hold him down until we get back, I've got a plan."

Sonia and Kazuichi entered the bathroom. Sonia got him to lean against the basin letting the blood from his nose drip down into the sink. She grabbed a hold of his chin examining him. He blushed a little at the attention. His nose was clearly fractured right in the middle of the ridge. She didn't know how to treat a broken nose, so she dabbed some gauze in a little water and helped to clean up the blood. He would have to get checked by Kirigiri or one of the others tomorrow, she thought to herself.

"Thanks, Miss Sonia." Kazuichi shyly commented as Sonia wiped down his face.

"That was… very cool Kazuichi. I don't believe I have ever seen you do something so… 'Badass'!" She exclaimed the last word in the sentence.

Kazuichi started scratching the back of his neck, his cheeks going very red.

"Aww, thanks, Miss Sonia."

…

She examined her handy work happy with how he was looking now, she grabbed some toilet paper and got him to hold it to his nose stopping the blood from going onto the floor.

After figuring she was done assessing him, she stood back and looked at him.

She had never thought Kazuichi as the type to put a plan into action with little hesitation. Before she thought that he was nothing like the boy she grew to like, but maybe… that was a good thing? She wasn't sure. He had more confidence, but he was still a thoughtful goofball. She really liked that about him. Maybe in a small way, he had matured through their suffering… But she didn't like that idea. That something good came from their anguish. She rationalized that he must have just matured with age.

"You have changed Kazuichi," Sonia said with a smile.

Kazuichi nervously chuckled before replying.

"Ah, is that a good thing?"

Sonia put her hand on his cheek, caressing it. A soft smile on her face.

"I think it is…"

She pulled her hand back realizing this wasn't the time for that.

She tugged at his sleeve and they left the bathroom together, going back to face Kamukura.

…

Kamukura stared them down as they approached.

"Maybe you can be of some entertainment after all…" Kamukura said looking at Kazuichi.

"No one has ever gotten the better of me like that. I'm impressed."

Kazuichi sighed.

"Yeah, I don't really care what you think dude. Just tell us how to revive our friends."

Kamukura looked away and thought for a few moments. They were all starting to worry about what he was going to say.

"Let me go first."

He wiggled his legs. Akane and Fuyuhiko looked toward Kazuichi wondering what they should do.

"After you tell us, sure."

Akane and Fuyuhiko continued to hold on to his legs tightly. Kamukura scowled back at him.

"How predictable… Do you actually think you are in control of this situation?"

Kazuichi smirked, walked over and tapped him on the nose, taunting him.

"Well you're the one who is tied up, and I'm the one who just outsmarted the smartest man in the world."

Kamukura was angry. He never experienced someone talking down to him and he didn't like it. Kazuichi was eagerly awaiting his reply when Kamukura stuck his tongue out.

"What are y-"

Before Kazuichi could finish his sentence Kamukura's jaw clenched as blood began to ooze from his tongue. He wasn't letting up. Kazuichi looked confused but Sonia knew exactly what he was doing, she dived toward Akane and Fuyuhiko, pulling them off.

"Let him go! He is going to bite off Hajime's tongue!"

A suddenly panicked Akane and Fuyuhiko leapt up and let him go.

Kamukura shifted himself upright and unclenched his jaw. They all stared at him with fear at the power they realized he had.

"Now… unlock the handcuffs."

Sonia started shaking her head without thinking. If they let him go, he could hurt them but if they didn't, he could hurt Hajime.

Kamukura sighed before lining up the back of his skull with the headboard and bashing it into it. His head made a loud cracking noise as hot blood flowed down the wood.

Sonia yelped and covered her mouth. Kazuichi just stood there panicked, feeling like this was all his fault while Fuyuhiko swore his head off. Akane was the only one who was driven to action. Leaping on top of Kamukura trying to keep him still.

Kamukura paused for a second and looked at her. He realized that now was his chance. He snapped at her throat, but she dodged him. So, he turned and bit into one of her arms gouging his teeth into her flesh.

Akane screamed in pain but continued to hold on to him.

"OKAY! Okay! We will let you go! Please stop hurting her!" Sonia screamed.

She didn't want to see anyone else get hurt. She knew letting him go was a bad idea, but she didn't have a choice.

Sonia's entire body was shaking, she was petrified as she went to the kitchen and grabbed the keys to the handcuffs. She felt like this was the end. Kamukura had turned the situation into his favour in a matter of moments.

They lost, after everything they had been through, Kamukura won, despair had won.

Akane climbed off Kamukura and he finally stopped biting down. Sonia shambled over and fiddled with the handcuffs trying to unlock them. She was shaking so much it was making it rather difficult.

Kazuichi fell to his knees defeated.

"It's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault…" He muttered repeatedly under his breath.

Once Sonia unlocked the first cuff Kamukura snatched the keys out of her hands and shoved her away toward the kitchen. She ended up hitting the corner of the bench with her ribcage. She felt a crack before she fell onto the ground in agony.

"Don't you fucking hurt her!" Fuyuhiko ran over crouching next to her.

"Are you okay?"

It hurt to move her body. She winced in pain as she shook her head no.

Fuyuhiko saw blood starting to soak through her nightgown, where she hit the bench. He put his hand over the wound lightly touching it. Sonia cried out in pain. He could feel one of the bones poking out.

"Shit… Sorry, Sonia, it looks like something's broken…"

Kamukura unlocked his last shackle and stood up on the bed massaging his wrists. He was free and had complete control. He got off the bed and walked around to where Akane was standing. She was tending to the bite Kamukura had inflicted upon her.

Akane was still clutching her arm in pain and gritting her teeth.

She wasn't going to let him win. She leapt up and charged at him with her fist raised. Kamukura stood there with a bored look on his face as he watched her come towards him. She swung at him with her right arm aiming for his cheek.

Kamukura was bored. How utterly predictable and droll. He dodged her swing with ease and replied with an uppercut into her jaw, knocking her onto the floor.

He grabbed her by the throat and threw her towards the foot of the bed before pointing towards her.

"Kneel."

Akane was in a lot of pain and was in a daze after being hit. She hated being bossed around but she knew she couldn't fight him. She kneeled down in front of him.

Kamukura looked around the room still pointing at Akane. Signalling for everyone to kneel next to her.

"Fuck off, Bastard!" Fuyuhiko shouted.

Kamukura looked towards him and stared him dead in the eye. He then leaned down and grabbed Akane's head, making her face Fuyuhiko. She was darting her eyes around nervously wondering what he was doing. She was starting to panic. Just as Sonia was about to call out to her, Kamukura started slamming her face onto the floor repeatedly. Every time he lifted her head up there was more blood.

"FUCK! FUCK! STOP! OKAY!" Fuyuhiko cried out.

Fuyuhiko helped Sonia over to Akane and they kneeled next to her. It hurt to walk but Sonia had enough adrenaline at this point that the pain started to dissipate. Akane's nose was broken and her forehead was bleeding. Her hair was a tattered mess covering her face but through it, Sonia could see her blankly staring back, she was no longer conscious.

Kazuichi crawled over still muttering and kneeled next to Akane. Sonia could barely breathe, she realized they were going to die, he was going to kill them. She looked over toward Fuyuhiko, he gritted his teeth, angry, unsure what to do.

Kamukura let go of Akane's head and sat down on the end of the bed staring down and them. Akane's limp body fell forward confirming she was unconscious.

It felt like an eternity, as the suspense of what he was going to do ate away at them.

Sonia managed to mumble out a small "Please…" but he ignored her.

After a few minutes, he got up and stumbled to the kitchen.

He opened one of the draws and got out a kitchen knife. He sat back down on the bed staring at them again for a few moments before speaking.

"The offer still stands."

He threw the knife onto the floor in front of them and waited to see what they were going to do next.

Sonia stared at the knife, realizing what he wanted them to do.

'This is not happening…'

Her breathing became faster.

'This is not happening…'

Faster.

'This is not happening!''

Faster.

"NOOOOO!" Sonia screamed, she felt lightheaded and fell to the ground. Suddenly Fuyuhiko was shouting above her, panic across his face.

"Calm down Sonia, breathe okay! We'll get through this shit, I promise!"

She couldn't hear him properly, she could only hear the sound of her breathing. That's when she realized what he was trying to tell her. She was hyperventilating.

But…

How was she meant to calm down, she couldn't. They were going to die, he was going to make them kill each other, just like in the killing game. She realized they survived for nothing. It was all for nothing.

"Kill them, or I will," Kamukura stated plainly like it was just a fact. Something that was going to happen. An undeniable truth. Sonia began to breath faster. She could feel herself losing consciousness.

"So be it." Kamukura kicked the knife away and stood up. He tackled Kazuichi to the ground and began beating him. Kazuichi was barely putting up a fight, as he continued. Sonia had seen many fist fights while she was despair so she could tell. He was trying to kill him.

This kind man, this caring man, this man that Sonia had feelings for, was being beaten to death in front of her. She couldn't let this happen. She stood by and watched so many people die. Her family, her friends, her country. Well, this one time she wasn't going to watch. She crawled over and covered him with her body. If she was going to die tonight, she was going to do it on her terms. She was going to die protecting someone she loved and that brought her a small fraction of comfort as she felt Kamukura's hands wrap around her throat.

Darker.

Darker.

She could feel herself drifting away.

* * *

"Oh hey! Took you long enough! We were getting worried about you, Sonia!" Mahiru hugged her as she was speaking.

Sonia looked around, she was on the beach. It was a nice, sunny day, not a cloud in the sky.

"It is good to have you with us, Miss Nevermind!" Nagito waved cheerfully.

"Oh yeah! The hotties are all here! Let's get this party started!" Teruteru yelled.

She didn't understand what was going on.

"You… how are you all here?" Sonia stammered.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" Akane asked scratching her head. "We realized that there was no peace for us out there. We're mass murderers, right? We should just stay here."

"Yeah! I liked it better here anyway!" Hiyoko cheered. "If only the pig barf didn't smell so bad!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Mikan cried protecting her face with her hands.

It was so good to see everyone, all her friends. Her first friends. She loved them all very much and she wanted to spend time with all of them. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

"YAHOO! Sonia's here, let's celebrate!" Ibuki yelled prancing around.

"Alright, Akane I'll race you to the ocean! What do you say!?" Nekomaru boomed.

"You're on!"

"Hey, I'll join in you guys! Wait for me!"

She heard Hajime yell as he ran past her towards the ocean smiling. She realized everyone was wearing togs. The togs they were first given when they arrived on the island. When they were happy. Before Monokuma arrived.

"Are we going into the water young master?" Peko asked Fuyuhiko.

"Sure, why not. Gotta act like a kid now and again don't ya?"

She watched one by one as they all started swimming hailing for her to join them.

"Sonia Nevermind! I order you to get into the water this instant!"

It was Togami, their Togami, the imposter. She saluted back with a chuckle.

"Yes, sir!"

"Come on Miss Sonia, let's go!" Kazuichi yelled out running past her.

"Indeed, it seems even my four dark devas of destruction seek respite!"

It was Gundham, she was so happy to see him. So so happy. He walked past her and nodded before getting into the ocean as well.

It was a beautiful day. All her friends wanted to play with her, they wanted to have fun. Truly this was a happy ending. She was truly happy.

Sonia started jogging towards the ocean.

"I am coming my fri-"

"Is this really what you want?"

Before she could finish shouting, a familiar voice suddenly interrupted her. She turned around to see her. Chiaki. She wasn't wearing togs. She was wearing their old school uniform and had a sad look on her face.

"Is this really what you want? After everything you have been through?"

It was her. The first friend she made at Hope's Peak. The one she watched die all those years ago, and once again only a few days earlier. She couldn't believe she was standing here in front of her. Sonia didn't know what to say.

"W-wh… I do not understand?"

Chiaki stared back at her with a sad look in her eyes.

"Hey, Sonia? You know this isn't real right? So, is this really what you want?"

She knew it wasn't… but the last two days were the most difficult ones of her life. She knew it wasn't real, but it was real enough. She knew she could be happy here. She wanted to stay here. All her problems could be washed away in an instant. She wouldn't have to fight anymore. She just had to go let go.

"I… I know… But…"

It would be so easy.

"Hey Sonia, I had a lot of fun with you at school. Did you know that? I didn't any friends when I first enrolled at Hope's Peak but… I found you. You didn't seem to have any friends either, so we decided to be each other's, and we didn't feel so alone… It was really nice. I wish we could have spent more time together… "

"But… Chiaki! We… We can do that! We can be together again! We just have to go into the water!"

Chiaki looked down disappointed.

"No, I can't be with you guys anymore… I died a long time ago. I didn't even know this island existed."

Sonia's eyes began watering as she collapsed on to her knees in front of her.

"No… No… We can! We-"

"No Sonia, we can't…" Chiaki crouched down next to her and hugged her.

"Hey Sonia, can I ask you a favour?"

Sonia leaned back to look at Chiaki, she could see a couple of tears going down her face as well.

"Please don't give up. Please keep going, I want you all to reach this happy ending together."

Sonia began weeping again. She tried to hide her pain like she always did, but she couldn't anymore not when faced with her. Not when faced with the one person in the world she wanted to see again. More than anyone.

"Why… WHY! It is so unfair Chiaki… I do not want to continue without you. You should be with us! WHY! Why is this so unfair? WHAT DID WE DO WRONG!? WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS!"

Sonia cried, and cried, and cried. She had been trying not to think about Chiaki all this time. How unfair this all was, how cruel this was. She truly had no idea that this kind of suffering existed. She began sobbing like a child.

"It's not fair. None of us deserved this. You were all the nicest people I had ever met in my entire life. You're all the last ones in the world to deserve this suffering… but. You have to keep going."

"No! NO!"

Sonia didn't want to listen, she turned back toward the ocean. It looked so nice, it looked for peaceful. She just wanted it to be over.

"I know life can be really hard sometimes… except that's what makes it worth living right? For the good times and the bad?... But I won't blame you if you go into the water Sonia if that's what you really want."

Sonia just stared at the ocean, her friends bounding in the waves, the friends she missed so much.

"I... I…"

Chiaki hugged Sonia from behind and nuzzled her head against her shoulders.

"It's so unfair that you all had to go through that… and I know you're tired, but I also know how strong you are Sonia. Please keep going, I want you to wake everyone up and have fun together again!"

Sonia continued to stare at the sea in silence.

"I know it's hard. I know you're scared and hurt. But please. You've come so far. We've come so far. Just push a little bit more and I promise this happy ending will be waiting for you."

Sonia spun around and grabbed Chiaki by the shoulders.

"NO! It won't be a happy ending if you are not there with us!"

Chiaki grabbed a hold of Sonia's hands and interlocked them in hers she looked deeply into her eyes resting her forehead against hers.

"Sonia… I won't be there either way… but please. As my last wish, I really want you all to be okay. Can you do that for me? Make all that fighting worth it."

Sonia let go of her hands and lay down next to Chiaki's feet still weeping. It was so hard, reality was so hard, even harder than they imagined. She didn't want to continue. She wanted to go into the ocean and be happy, but she realized she couldn't. She had to keep fighting for her, for her friends, for those that have died, for everyone. After all, she made a promise.

"Do you… Really think we can reach that happy ending, Chiaki?"

"Of course! As Miss Yukizome always said! Were ultimate's! We can do anything we put our minds to!"

Sonia got up and hugged Chiaki, her weeping finally beginning to stop.

"Will, I ever see you again?"

"I think so? You're going to save my A.I. counterpart, right?"

Sonia forgot. She was going to see her friend again, at least some version of her. Which brought her a little comfort. She nodded back at Chiaki.

Chiaki's face lit up.

"So, it's true then! I really do have an A.I. version! That's so cool! What is it like!?"

Sonia laughed seeing just how excited Chiaki was getting over having an A.I. she could imagine her getting really excited over having one.

Wait…

Imagine…

She reminded herself that the Chiaki in front of her wasn't real and it hurt so much to admit that to herself. She punched her hands into the sand frustrated and angry. Letting the sand flow through her fingers.

"I'm so sorry Chiaki! I am so so sorry! This should have never happened to you! You should have never died!"

Chiaki hugged Sonia and caressed her hair.

"It's okay Sonia. It wasn't your fault."

Sonia missed her friend so much. The one that had been with her since the beginning of Hope's Peak. The one she had so many joyful memories with. She shared everything with her, the good times and the bad… Maybe she was starting to understand her point. That sometimes good things come from bad situations. She started Hope's Peak with no friends but because of that, she was able to become such good friends with Chiaki. She realized that even included Hajime… In the killing game, in the worst days of her life, she made one of the best friends she ever had. She began crying again and held onto Chiaki tighter feeling like she would slip away at any moment.

"I love you Chiaki! I… I… I promise I will keep going. I don't know if I can but, if you think so… I will try."

Chiaki hugged her tighter.

"Thank you, Sonia. Thank you for doing this for me. Thank you for being my friend. I... I love you too…"

Chiaki kissed her on the forehead and like that she was gone. Everyone was gone. Sonia was alone. Just like she had always been. She always felt so lonely growing up, she could never make friends because of her princess status. That's why she became so obsessed with film and culture. She wanted to be like the people in those stories having adventures and living life to the fullest. It was some of the saddest times of her life, but she didn't regret them. It made her appreciate just how amazing all the people she met at Hope's Peak were. She had so many regrets. So many mistakes and failings. She knew she would never fully forgive herself for what she did while she was despair but maybe at the very least… It got her to appreciate how happy she was before. What was the saying? She tried to remember it. Every cloud has a silver lining? She wasn't sure if that was correct, but it was close enough.

Sonia got up from the sand, dusting herself off and began to think. She had to fight. She had to find a way out of this situation. She wanted to see everyone again, she wanted them to be happy again. She wanted to see Chiaki again and with that, she found her answer.

* * *

Sonia woke up and used the last of her breath to let out a single word.

"Chiaki…"

His grip loosened slightly around her throat. He shoved her down into Kazuichi's chest and pinned his knee in between her shoulder blades. She gasped for air, finally being able to breathe again. Kamukura leaned forward.

"You knew her?"

Sonia coughed and hacked, still recovering from being choked. She looked around the room and saw both Fuyuhiko and Akane unconscious. At least she hoped so, she wasn't sure if they were dead or not which terrified her. She looked down at Kazuichi whose face was covered in large purple bruises and blood. This was it if she didn't get him to stop now, he was dead, they all were.

"You want to know why she is so special right? Why she made you feel the way you feel?"

Kamukura put more pressure on her back pinning her down harder.

"How do you know that?"

"Hajime told me…" She winced from the pain of his knee being dug into her spine.

"And how will sparing you give me an answer to that question?"

It was hard for Sonia to think, she felt like she was going to pass out any second the only thing keeping her conscious was the mass of adrenaline rushing through her body.

"Her A.I. you can speak with her…"

Kamukura paused and considered what she was saying finally releasing a small amount of pressure of her back.

"She was deleted, how will you do that? Explain. Now."

"Her A.I. was created from our memories of her. So, we should be able to recreate her again."

Kamukura got off Sonia and shoved her away.

"Very well, recreate her now and I will allow you to live."

Kamukura raised his fist preparing to hit Kazuichi. Sonia dived on top of him again.

"WAIT! I cannot do it without my friends!"

Kamukura sighed before lifting Sonia by her hair to face him. She desperately tugged on it trying to relieve some of the pressure.

"I do not care for your childish sentimentality. You will do it alone or not at all."

"Please! You do not understand! She was created from all our memories! If you used only mine it would create a less accurate representation. We must use everyone's to get the most accurate results!"

Kamukura yanked at her hair harder pulling some out. He pushed her face against his. Staring her down. Her eyes were bloodshot, and tears were still tearing down her face.

"Are you lying?"

"You would know if I was lying to you, would you not?"

After all this, there was still no emotion in Kamukura's face. He dropped Sonia to the ground and sat down on the bed. She breathed a sigh of relief and massaged her head. She felt it was bleeding.

"Let me guess, everyone has to be awake to do that?"

"I believe so."

Kamukura looked at her with scepticism.

"How predictable… I will allow you to awaken your classmates. After you have, I will return and require a conversation with this A.I. Is it a deal?"

"As long as no one has to die."

Kamukura stared at Kazuichi's bruised and bloody body. He wanted to kill him. He wasn't sure if he had ever felt anger but if he could he would have felt it towards him. He stared back at Sonia before speaking.

"I have given Hajime the appropriate knowledge to revive your friends. I will not return until you have finished. Do not fail, or I will make your death a painful one…"

He was about to leave but wanted to say one more thing.

"It is beneficial we had this talk, Sonia. I hope you can make things… interesting."

With that he fell on to his back going to sleep giving control back to Hajime, unaware of anything that had transpired, Hajime continued to sleep soundly.

* * *

He woke up to the sound of Sonia screaming, his heart began to race. He sat up and felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He looked around the room and realized what he had done. Akane, Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi were all unconscious. Hajime looked down, his knuckles were bruised and hands bloody. He tasted metal in his mouth, he moved his tongue around and realized it was bleeding too.

"No… It can't be, it can't…" Hajime mumbled. It hurt to speak with his bleeding tongue. He didn't know what happened, but he knew that he was responsible.

"Please wake up… Please… No…"

He heard Sonia whimper over Kazuichi's body. He looked half dead, if not already. He looked toward Akane and Fuyuhiko. Akane's head was covered in blood and she had a big gash on her arm. Fuyuhiko looked alright but he was unconscious as well.

Hajime didn't know what to do… He didn't want to move… he didn't want to speak. He wanted to disappear. This was all his fault. He felt a rush of bile surge up his throat as he threw up on to the bed in front of him. He couldn't take it, this is just like before. Hurting the ones he loved. He realized.

**He was still in despair.**

He began screaming at the realization. He tried to hide his face with his hands. It was his fault they were hurt. They would keep getting hurt trying to protect him. He was dangerous. He couldn't let Kamukura hurt them anymore. Kamukura would never stop, he would never go away. It was hopeless. He had to die.

"Hajime…"

He heard Sonia whisper still sobbing over Kazuichi. Hajime fell off the bed and crawled on his hands and knees towards her grabbing on to her nightgown. He pulled at it, ripping it. He looked up to face her, tears and vomit on his face.

"Kill me! Please! Please kill me!"

Sonia was still shaking. She was still so scared. She wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"It's not your fault… I promise."

He went to hug her back, but she winced at the pressure of his arms around her ribcage. He moved back slightly and examined it. He had hurt Sonia as well. She was bleeding.

"I… I'm… I'm sorry. I hurt you, didn't I? I… I'm sorry… Please, let me die."

She felt a mix of frustration and sadness. It was awful seeing him like this, she wanted to help him. Make him feel better. She realized it was like before when he had that awful memory, but… there wasn't time for any of that. She didn't have time to help him. She needed his. The others were still in serious danger and needed medical attention.

"Hajime... I know this is really hard right now. But I need your help, okay? We need to get our friends help."

"Kill me... kill me… kill me…"

He wasn't listening. She felt really bad about doing this, but she felt she had too. She wound her arm back and slapped Hajime across his right cheek. A loud slap filled the room.

"Hajime, we do not have time for this! We need to help our friends!"

"Help our friends…"

"Yes! We must seek medical attention!"

"Medical…"

Suddenly years of medical expertise, research, journals, theories and knowledge filled Hajime's mind. He realized he could do it all. He could treat anyone. He even knew how to wake up their friends. He knew how to get them out of their coma's. He was still in tremendous pain but a small amount of hope returned, and it was all thanks to Sonia… she saved him again.

He looked back up at her with new found determination and appreciation. He felt like at any moment he was going to break down again, but he did his best to hold back that feeling and get to work.

"Thank you, Sonia… I know how to help them can you get me the first aid kit from the bathroom?"

Sonia smiled, relieved he was back. She kissed him on the cheek and stumbled to the bathroom to retrieve the first aid kit. Still clutching her ribcage, trying to minimize the pain.

He examined Kazuichi, he had multiple lacerations and bruises across his body. Two black eyes, broken nose in several places, cracked lip, broken ribs and no doubt a concussion, he had to work fast, but before he could, he needed to check on Fuyuhiko and Akane. Akane had a large gash in her arm it almost looked like a bite… Hajime tried to ignore that fact and continued examining her. She had a broken nose and a bleeding forehead. He needed to stop any bleeding and make sure her wounds were disinfected but she was fine compared to Kazuichi. Finally, he went across the room to Fuyuhiko. No noticeable injuries he presumed he was just knocked out. Hajime remembered how Kamukura fixed him up before when he took over, he even stroked his head. He must have not wanted to hurt him. Suddenly Hajime heard a crash from the bathroom.

"Sonia?" He didn't hear a reply.

He raced over and looked inside, she was passed out over the sink clutching the first aid kit. He carefully picked her up and got her back in the main bedroom. He hadn't thought to check on her since she was still conscious when he woke up but now realized he should have.

She had blood in her hair and seemed to be missing some. He looked around the room and saw a small bunch of blonde hair lying on the floor a few feet away. Kamukura must have ripped it out. He lifted up her nightgown and examined her ribcage. He felt around the area and realized that multiple ribs were broken, she must have been hit with something.

Hajime slammed his fist onto the ground and clenched his teeth. He had hurt her even more than he thought. He ripped out some of her hair and broke her ribs. He was about to start screaming and swearing giving in to his anger and sadness but managed to calm himself down realizing now wasn't the time for that. He had to help them, and now he knew how.

* * *

**DAY THREE**

Sonia woke up to the morning sun shining through the front windows, blinding her. She lifted her arm trying to block the sun from her eyes but felt a sharp pain. She sat up realizing that her ribcage was aching. She patted it trying to assess the damage, it hurt to touch. Remembering what happened last night she wasn't surprised. Although what did surprise her was that she was wearing a massive blue shirt that didn't belong to her. It was so big it went past her knees.

Her heart started racing wondering what happened to the others. She started panicking and looking around the room. Akane was lying next to her sleeping soundly. She had purple swelling under her eyes and around her nose. She also had a blood-stained bandage around her right forearm from where Kamukura bit her. Akane was in rough shape but Sonia was relieved she was okay.

She got up slowly, careful not to move her chest too much and found Kazuichi lying on Hajime's bed. His face was swollen like Akane's and had bandages wrapped around various parts of his body. He still had his purple boxes on, but his shirt was off. His chest was bandaged up and his right arm was swollen. There was also pillows at the base of his neck to support his head. She breathed a sigh of relief. He looked bad, but he seemed to be getting the treatment he needed. Sonia laid the top half of her body onto the bed and picked up his free hand holding it in hers. She really thought she was going to lose him last night. She thought she was going to lose everyone. She was so thankful that he was still here.

She noticed Fuyuhiko was on a makeshift bed on the floor next to Kazuichi. He looked fine. Which frustrated and relieved her at the same time. Knowing he got off so easily while Kazuichi is in such a bad state. She sighed, realizing that was a very pessimistic outlook. She closed her eyes for a few seconds calming herself down, she had one final question.

Where was Hajime?

She looked around the room and even checked the bathroom but couldn't find him. She started panicking again, possibilities of where he was racing through her mind. Did Kirigiri and the others take him after learning he injured them all? Did he feel guilty and run off? She wasn't sure, but she had to find him. She raced to the door and flung it open.

There she found Hajime, sitting on the patio steps looking down the hill with a cup of coffee in his hands. The morning sun illuminating him.

He turned around when he noticed her, he gave her a weak smile with tears running down his face. Sonia was so relieved he was okay. She ran down the steps to get in front of him and gave him a big hug almost spilling his coffee. He began to cry harder as he hugged her back.

"I'm so sorry…"

She heard him mutter under his breath. She shook her head clutching him tighter.

"It's not your fault."

He was okay, he was here. They all were, Sonia began to cry with relief. They had survived their showdown with Kamukura, if only just.

…

Eventually, she let him go and sat down next to him. She stole his coffee and had a sip. It was still awful. It made her really happy. She gave it back with a smile before resting her head on his shoulder.

"So, what happened?" Hajime asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing…"

She looked down at Hajime's hands. They were trembling, if the coffee had any more liquid in it, it would have spilled.

"Please… what did I do?"

Sonia furrowed her brow. She grabbed onto his chin to face her.

"Listen, you did not do anything. It was Kamukura, okay?"

Hajime nodded and continued to look at her with expecting eyes. He wanted to know.

Sonia sighed. Remembering last night was not a pleasant task and telling Hajime about it was worse.

"Kamukura tried to make us kill each other. That is all you need to know… Do not dwell on it."

"Jesus Christ…"

Hajime covered his eyes with his left hand and began tapping his foot incredibly fast. It looked like he was about to lose it. Sonia knew she had to make him feel better.

"You woke up only knowing that you hurt us. But you still stabilised everyone. I'm really proud of you. You really are amazing Hajime."

He blushed a little at the compliment, but he quickly returned to trembling.

"Sonia… The only thing that kept me going. Was the promise we made. I didn't want to let you down."

This time Sonia was the one blushing.

"I'm glad you remembered, Hajime."

Sonia took a big deep breath in and out. The sun was only just rising it must have been early. It was calm and peaceful which was a nice departure from the chaos of the night.

Hajime buried his face in his hands. He couldn't believe they had to go through something so terrible, but maybe there was some hope left.

"Sonia, I don't know how, but… I know how to wake everyone up… Did you have something to do with that?"

Sonia beamed back at him.

"Yes, he said…" She puffed out her chest and did a poor impersonation of Kamukura doing her best to cheer Hajime up. "I have given Hajime the required knowledge, blah, blah, blah."

He smiled slightly which made Sonia happy that she succeeded.

"Also, I have some more good news…"

Hajime looked at Sonia with his head on a tilt, wondering what it could be.

"He won't come back until after we have revived everyone. The price for that being he wants to speak to A.I. Chiaki after we have."

Hajime had his mouth ajar just staring at Sonia. He had no idea what to say, it was like a massive weight was lifted off his shoulders. She just said he would be free of him until everyone was safe. It seemed to be too good to be true, but he trusted Sonia. He continued to stare at her as new tears formed in his eyes. Tears of happiness.

"T-Thank you… Thank you so much, Sonia!"

He grabbed a hold of her, careful not to touch her ribcage. He didn't know how to show her how much gratitude he had for what she had done for him.

"How can I ever… How… Thank you…"

Sonia hugged him back. She was so happy he was okay. She was paranoid that he would never be able to forgive himself for what Kamukura did, but it seems knowing he can't hurt them again, at least for a time, was enough.

"We are going to keep fighting Hajime. We are going to save everyone!"

Hajime beamed back at her. A massive smile on his face. For the first time, he really believed it. He knew how to wake them up, he knew how to fix them, and he knew that with Sonia and the rest at his side he could really see them being able to do it.

"Thank you… Thank you…"

For the first time since waking up, he felt truly hopeful for the future. He wasn't just trying it survive he was trying to live, and it was all thanks to her. To think that such a happy outcome would come out of such a terrible situation.

'She truly is incredible.'

But that's when it occurred to him.

"How did you get him to agree to those terms?"

Sonia thought for a second and then her eyes lit up. She turned to face him winking and giving him finger guns.

"I laid on 'dat' princess charm!"


	5. Hot Iron

*Knock knock knock!*

Everyone was startled awake. They all fell asleep on the floor. Shoulder to shoulder they rested against one another not wanting to separate. Traumatized by their experience last night. Thinking that their journey had come to an abrupt and violent end. Tears were shed, apologises profusely exclaimed and wounds tended to. Fortunately, Hajime was able to impart the incredible news that he knew how to wake up their friends. Which was as a massive comfort. By the end everyone was thoroughly exhausted; physically, mentally and emotionally. So, to get a sudden knock at the door was a rude awakening indeed.

Hajime only just managed to get his eyes open. He had been crying all night and it hurt to even open his eyelids. He saw that the sun was still shining through the front windows, he realized it must have only been a few hours since he and Sonia came inside after she comforted him. He spent the next half hour apologizing to Akane, Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi. So, he figured he probably got less than an hour of sleep. It would have to do because he realized just how screwed they were. How were they going to explain how they were all hurt without telling them about Kamukura? He spun around panicking. The others were starting to wake up too.

*BANG BANG BANG!*

"Get up. Breakfast is ready, or would you prefer to starve? Maybe it would be better that way, so you don't have to subject us to your presence."

They all stared at each other unsure what to do, eventually, Hajime answered.

"Ah… yeah… be down in a bit…"

"Hmph" Togami huffed and took back off down the hill.

They sat there in stunned silence for a time before Fuyuhiko got up and peeked through the window checking that Togami was gone.

"Fuck… How are we going to explain this shit? They can't know about Kamukura, right?"

"Oh dear…" Sonia mumbled. She didn't think about the implications of their wounds. How could they possibly explain such extensive injuries?

Hajime bit at his nails before spitting at the metallic taste that entered his mouth. He had blood underneath them again. It upset him but he realized now wasn't the time to be disgusted with himself, he had to do something.

"Kazuichi is half dead! How can we possibly explain that?" Akane shouted while moving the hair out of her eyes.

He realized not only would they have to explain their wounds he would also have to explain his inexplicable and sudden knowledge of how to wake up his friends.

"I have limited makeup in my room, perhaps we could utilize that?" Sonia asked.

Hajime went through a bunch of different possibilities in his head. There was no good way out of this situation. No matter what, there was going to be a risk, but he wanted to minimize that. He didn't want the rest of them to get hurt.

"Ah I'm sorry guys, I shouldn't have taunted him," Kazuichi commented.

"Stop it! We told you that it wasn't your fault! It's nobody's fault. I'm sick of going around in circles with this shit." Fuyuhiko snapped.

They were so close to waking up their friends, they wanted to just tell them the truth, but after how hostile Togami was yesterday, Hajime was certain he would use Kamukura as leverage against them. He knew that this idea to free them from despair was already a controversial one so a big piece of news like this might spell the end for them. They would never be able to wake up their friends… How could they go about this?

Hajime tried to think but his mind struggled to put coherent ideas together. He was still exhausted. His mind was drifting to and from reality… until someone spoke up.

"We can't get around telling them the truth about Kamukura, I think… But maybe there's a way we can go about it that would help… minimize the damage."

"But if we tell them about Kamukura they might use it as leverage against us. We've already been over this…" Hajime replied.

"I know and that would be some really bad news, but what if we could give them some equally good news at the same time?"

Hajime was confused, he didn't understand what they were getting at.

"What do you mean?"

"Show them that you can wake someone up. Show them that they're free of despair. If you can do that, I don't think they would shut down the project then."

Show them that he knew how to wake them up? Would that really be enough?

"If I tell the future foundation I can wake people up they aren't going to believe me…"

"That's why I said show them! Come on Hajime!"

Show them… that… might… work?

If he woke someone up and showed them that they were free of despair. Then they might be able to overlook the danger Kamukura possess. It was risky… but it wasn't a bad plan.

"Yeah... yeah! I think you might be right! Thank yo-"

Hajime looked up to thank the person for the advice when he was greeted by everyone looking at him confused.

"Hajime… May I ask who you are speaking to?" Sonia asked worriedly.

'Shit…'

He didn't even think about it. It felt so natural talking to her like he could really hear her in the room. Now he looked crazy…

"Ah sorry… just thinking out loud. I have a plan if you guys want to hear it."

Sonia knelled next to Hajime and grabbed a hold of his arm with both her hands. She looked down to the ground before nervously speaking up.

"Were you speaking to Chiaki?..."

Hajime recoiled at her comment. He felt so embarrassed and exposed. No one was ever meant to know about his fantasies of her. He looked around the room. Nothing but pity and sadness was seen on everyone's faces. Hajime was starting to tear up, he couldn't take this… No one was meant to know… He didn't answer Sonia and began explaining his plan.

* * *

Hajime explained that if they successfully wake someone up before telling Naegi and crew about Kamukura then it's unlikely that they would shut the program down. They would hopefully overlook the danger Kamukura possesses and let them continue to wake everyone else up. So, they just had to keep secret that any of them were hurt until then. They all knew it was a risky plan, but it would have to do so they agreed to it. Hajime, Sonia and Fuyuhiko would head down to the pods and attempt to wake up one of their classmates. While Akane watched over Kazuichi, neither of them looked good enough to be able to be seen without raising suspicion so they would wait in Hajime's cabin until they were done.

Everyone was in agreement, only one question remained. Who were they going to wake up first?

"Please… I'm begging all of you." Fuyuhiko got down to his knees and placed his forehead on the ground. "I know it's selfish… but please. Can we wake up Peko first?"

"Hey no! We should wake up Nekomaru first! He can help us if we're ever attacked!" Akane jumped up.

"So could Peko! She's the ultimate swordswoman!"

Hajime and Sonia looked at each other with concern. They were afraid of this happening. They all had someone they would prefer to wake up first. They had to find common ground somewhere.

"You just want your girlfriend back! Why are you being selfish!?"

"'Selfish'? Please! You want Nekomaru back so he can do 'it' to you again don't you!"

"Please stop arguing!" Sonia cried.

Fuyuhiko and Akane turned to face her, both angry. Sonia gave them a concerned look paired with big puppy eyes, pleading with her expression to stop fighting. It quickly worked as both Akane and Fuyuhiko relinquished their anger, feeling guilty about the things they said.

"Oh sorry, Sonia…" Fuyuhiko shyly commented scratching his neck.

"I am not the one you should be apologizing too."

Fuyuhiko turned to face Akane, his pride begged him to stop but his maturity pulled through as he bowed and apologized.

"Sorry Akane, I guess we're both a bit on edge."

"Ah, don't worry about it Baby Gangsta!" Akane waved dismissively.

Fuyuhiko's eye twitched. He was about to lose it until Akane grabbed him in a headlock and started giving him a noogie.

"Haha! Last time I promise."

"GET OFF ME!"

Fuyuhiko pushed her off and turned away pouting. Sonia and Hajime couldn't help giggling at the exchange. They were glad things were able to resolve themselves.

"So how are we going to decide this then?" Kazuichi asked sitting up in bed.

They all grouped up in a circle around where Kazuichi was resting. Sonia and Fuyuhiko on one side, Hajime and Akane on the other.

"This may take some time…" Sonia commented rubbing her arm anxiously. Hajime couldn't help but notice the atmosphere in the room had shifted once again.

"Yeah, you might be right."

"Then can we get some breakfast first? I'm starving!" Akane clutched at her stomach, bending over.

Hajime was surprised with just energetic she was. Her sickly and injured appearance didn't reflect it whatsoever.

"But what if they see that we are injured?" asked Sonia.

"Hajime, Sonia and I could go down and bring breakfast up here, we look alright." Fuyuhiko crossed his arms, thinking.

"Right!" Sonia lifted her arm quickly in a cheer. She suddenly winced in pain and collapsed onto the ground.

"Woah, hey!" Fuyuhiko darted over making sure she was okay. "Look Hajime and I got this, just wait here. We can handle breakfast."

Sonia rested against the side of the bed. Still clutching at her broken ribs, she realized she needed to be more careful.

"How will you carry it all up here?" Akane asked.

"We'll eat our portions then bring the rest. That should work."

They all stood in silence in for a moment before they all shrugged.

"What about my head though, I still have some blood in my hair…" Hajime turned his head around showing them all the wound. They thought for a moment before Kazuichi's face lit up. He pulled the beanie off his head and threw it towards Hajime.

"No problem, see?" Kazuichi smiled proudly at his idea.

Hajime caught the bundle of black cotton. It was a little heavier than he thought it would be as it was drenched with sweat. He was wearing a cotton beanie on a tropical island, so Hajime wasn't surprised. It also smelled like death itself curled up and died in it but… he appreciated the offer and it was a good idea, so he gladly accepted it.

"Thanks, man…"

Kazuichi winked and held up his less injured arm giving the thumbs up.

"Alright, be back soon." Hajime went to leave, when Sonia carefully got up and grabbed his hand, making sure not to put any pressure on her ribcage. She didn't look him in the eyes and simply clutched onto his hand tighter. Hajime was surprised at the sudden interaction.

He leaned down slightly and grabbed her by the shoulder, doing so he realized she was shaking. Realizing she was scared he brought her in closer for a hug. Hajime realized he was scared too. They had been such massive supports for each other that it felt uncomfortable to be apart from each other, even for a few minutes, especially after the traumatic events of last night. He stroked the back of her head and whispered in her ear.

"I'll be back as soon as I can okay, I promise."

Sonia bit her bottom lip. She didn't like just how dependent she had become on Hajime for moral support. She felt pathetic that she felt this way, but last time they were separated for any period longer than a few minutes Hajime turned back into despair. So, she felt that her fear wasn't completely irrational.

"Please… be careful."

Hajime and Fuyuhiko said they would be back with breakfast soon and headed for the hotel.

**Hajime and Fuyuhiko**

A note was waiting for them on the kitchen counter when they arrived.

_We didn't get much sleep last night…_

_So, we went back to our cabins,_

_Catch up with you later! :D_

_\- Naegi_

"Holy shit, we got lucky huh?" Fuyuhiko proclaimed examining the note.

Hajime couldn't believe it, they did get lucky… **really lucky**.

Before Hajime let that thought consume him, he occupied himself with gathering breakfast. Five bowls of chicken soup and fruit juice were waiting for them on the bench. Hajime managed to find dinner plates in the cupboard and covered three of them trying to keep them warm for the others.

Grabbing his meal and cutlery he sat across from Fuyuhiko at the nearest table. The morning sun was shining in and a cool breeze was blowing through the restaurant

'Another perfect day in paradise…' Hajime thought to himself.

He felt the breeze against his skin, mixed with the steam rising from the soup it was a nice mixture of hot and cold. A relaxing respite after an exhausting night, he enjoyed the moment before turning to towards his breakfast. He started eating carefully. The soup was still hot enough that he had to blow on it before eating. He was a few mouthfuls in when he realized Fuyuhiko was smirking. Hajime lowered his spoon and looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Fuyuhiko pushed out his lower lip, a sly grin taking over his face.

"So… You and Sonia, huh? Didn't see that one coming."

"Oh, no… It's not like that..."

Fuyuhiko nodded slowly, clearly not convinced.

"Oh well, that's good then. You're way out of her league anyway."

Hajime snorted at the comment making soup shoot out through his nostrils. Fuyuhiko's eye went wide with surprise as he collapsed onto the table in a laughing fit, banging his fist onto the table over and over. Hajime was horrified at himself.

"NOOO MY SOUP!" Hajime screamed in horror realizing that the soup he snorted out landed back into the bowl.

"Oh, my fucking god! I'm telling everyone about this!" Fuyuhiko cackled. He couldn't believe what an idiot Hajime was.

"Fuck!"

"Man, that's disgusting dude!"

"It's your fault! You made me laugh!" Even Hajime began to see the humour in the situation and began to chuckle as well. "Screw you!"

Fuyuhiko shot him a sly grin before starting to dig into his soup as well. Hajime calmed down and even though he was grossed out by it now, kept eating.

Hajime knew he wanted to get him back somehow so without thinking he spoke.

"What about you and Peko, huh? You two ever get 'lovey-dovey'?"

Fuyuhiko's idiotic smile darkened into a frown. He stopped eating and sat there for a while, not looking at anything in particular. Hajime realized what he said and regretted it.

"Hey, sorry, I wasn't thinking…"

Fuyuhiko covered his face with one of his hands. It looked like he was about to cry. "Do you remember why Peko died in the simulation Hajime?"

Hajime felt incredibly guilty they were just laughing, having fun and now it looked like Fuyuhiko was about to break down. He hated himself, he always seemed to hurt those around him. He realized now wasn't the time for more self-hatred, he had already been doing that all night. He needed to help Fuyuhiko.

"Ah, yeah. She killed Mahiru and was executed by Monokuma. I'm really sorry that happened b-"

"No! Not how, why!?"

'Why did she die? Because she was caught? No, I doubt that's what he wants to hear, so what… her motive then?'

"She killed Mahiru on your behalf, right? Or at least, she thought she was."

Fuyuhiko nodded. He braced both of his elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands. He did his best to hide it, but Hajime could see tears rolling down his face.

"She was nothing but a tool to me…"

Hajime didn't know what to say, he wasn't ready for the sudden heart to heart. He tried to calm himself down and listen, he knew that Peko's death had a massive toll on him and that was before they woke up from the simulation.

"Fuck, look sorry, I shouldn't have brought this shit up. It's embarrassing."

"Dude…"

Fuyuhiko peeked out at Hajime through his fingers. His eye was bloodshot and red.

"I just snorted soup. I don't think anything you can say will be more embarrassing than that."

Fuyuhiko burst out laughing.

"HAHAHA, You're right." Fuyuhiko breathed in and out deeply. Resting his hands onto the outer surface of the bowl. "You sure you want me to talk about this. It's pretty heavy stuff…"

"Last time I talked about this kind of stuff it made me feel better. So, it might help… I dunno."

Fuyuhiko nodded and began to speak when Hajime suddenly interrupted him.

"We should keep eating while we talk though, we don't want to keep the others waiting forever." Hajime smiled.

Fuyuhiko looked down at his soup. He only had a couple of mouthfuls.

"Just no snorting it this time."

Hajime lowered his head and rubbed his brow. He realized he would never hear the end of this.

**Sonia, Akane and Kazuichi**

Sonia watched Hajime and Fuyuhiko walk down the hill towards the hotel. She knew she shouldn't be so worried, but they have both had issues being alone. Hopefully being together though they will be alright. She slowly closed the door and turned around to face Akane and Kazuichi who were staring back at her with wide eyes.

"So… you and Hajime, huh?" Akane smiled.

"WHAT! Say it's not true Miss Sonia!" Kazuichi yelled pointing towards her.

Sonia simply smiled back.

Kazuichi grabbed a pillow next to him and screamed into it. "AHHHH! I thought I would have at least a small chance, it's only been a day!" He threw the pillow across the room in frustration. "Screw you Hajime!"

She felt a bit bad about messing with him, but she thought he was kind of cute when he was flustered.

"Wait! You like Sonia, Kazuichi!?" Akane audibly gasped.

"Are you serious right now Akane!?"

Sonia couldn't help but giggle.

"Worry not Kazuichi, I am not currently dating Hajime if that is what you mean."

Kazuichi's face lit up and as he relaxed his whole body in relief. "Oh, thank god… WAIT!" He sat back up in a flash pointing an accusing finger at Sonia again. "What do you mean currently!?"

**Hajime and Fuyuhiko**

"So…" Fuyuhiko began. "Peko and I have been together since we were kids, but… I guess I always resented her. Not her as a person but what she represented. That… I was weak. That I needed protection. I hated having to rely on the yakuza for anything and she was a constant reminder of that." Fuyuhiko bit at his nails between mouthfuls of soup, it seemed he had the same habit as Hajime. "If I'm being honest… I was an asshole towards her. Not always but… I really should have been nicer."

Hajime knew sometimes people weren't looking for an answer and just needed to vent. He continued to eat trying to be as accepting as possible.

"Well… that trend continued while we were despair as well… FUCK!" He slammed his fist on the table knocking his juice over, he didn't seem to notice.

"I was even worse. Far, far worse. I treated her like a piece of filth. Disposable, disgusting, sub-human."

Hajime knew now was the time to step in.

"Hey! We were brainwashed. You shouldn't blame yourself for how you treated her."

"That's not true! Sure, I was despair, but she was too! But she still followed me loyally the whole time. She never lifted as much as a finger at me. Always treated me with respect and I…"

Fuyuhiko was trembling, Hajime was starting to reach over to try and calm him down, but before he could Fuyuhiko stood up and picked up his bowl, throwing it across the room. It shattered when it collided with the wall. Before Hajime could react Fuyuhiko was screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I fucking abused her! I treated her as just that… A fucking tool, a tool I could do anything I wanted with."

Hajime had never dealt with such an outburst before. He didn't know the right thing to do in this situation, he continued to sit there and listen hoping he was doing the right thing.

"NO! That's not true! I was worse than that! I enjoyed toying with her! She was my plaything. You know when I tracked down my parents, the ones who adopted her. I got her to kill them for me. I knew she didn't want to and that's why I got her too!"

Hajime felt awful for him. He tried to imagine him doing a similar thing to Chiaki or Sonia and it made him sick to his stomach. He couldn't imagine how bad it would be knowing you actually did those things to someone you care so much for.

Fuyuhiko fell down defeated into his chair. He curled his head into his chest and rubbed his bald scalp.

"Torture… Killing… It didn't matter, I…. I even used her to get my rocks off a few times. I'm fucking disgusting."

Even Hajime was starting to tear up hearing this. He knew they would have all done awful things but hearing his friend say them out loud, was so much harder.

"Listen, Hajime."

"…Yeah"

"I don't when we're going to wake Peko up, but when we do. I'm gonna go. I… she shouldn't be around me."

They sat there in silence.

…

…

Hajime had no idea what to say.

…

…

The silence was unbearable, he had to think of something.

…

…

"I'd never hate you Hajime."

He looked up, Chiaki was standing in the corner, hand on her chest, smiling.

"No… not right now…" Hajime muttered under his breath. Why was he seeing her now? He didn't have time for this he needed to help Fuyuhiko.

He kept his head down and started tugging at his hair. 'THINK! THINK DAMMIT!'

"Hajime."

He ignored her.

"Hajime!"

"Shut up…" He mumbled.

"Mmm," Chiaki let out an angry groan and stomped over. Hajime finally looked up to face her. She had a big pout on her face and her hands intertwined in front of her.

"I'm trying to help you here!"

"Not now… I need to help Fuyuhiko… Please, I can't do this right now. Please go Chiaki." It still hurt to see her. He didn't have time to focus on himself right now. He needed her to leave, and like that she disappeared. A mixture of relief and sadness came across him. He felt guilty for doing that but realized how stupid he was being feeling guilty over an aberration. What was she even doing here? He tried to think it through…

'"I'd never hate you Hajime." What did she mean… oh…' It suddenly occurred to him what she was getting at. He felt like a massive idiot and an even bigger asshole. He knew what to say to Fuyuhiko.

"Okay."

Fuyuhiko looked up from his brooding silence.

"If you want to go when she wakes up. I'll help you pack myself. It might actually be for the best."

Fuyuhiko nodded, a tear rolling down his face. It hurt to hear that he was right.

"But only if Peko gives you permission herself. Because I don't think she would ever hate you."

Fuyuhiko looked up, anger in his eye.

"No! She can't see me!"

"Dude… You're insane if you don't think the first thing, she will want to see is you when she wakes up."

Fuyuhiko was now the one who was speechless as he stared at Hajime.

"I know you abused her. I know you think she is better off without you. And you may be right. But at least let her say goodbye. Let her make the choice. I promise you, I'll respect her decision either way."

Fuyuhiko bit at his bottom lip in frustration.

"Do you… do you really think that would be for the best?"

"I do."

Fuyuhiko suddenly glanced to his side before looking back at Hajime with a sceptical look.

"Do you think that or does Chiaki? …I heard you mutter her name under your breath"

Hajime faced away. He did it again. 'Dammnit…'

Fuyuhiko let out a large sigh. "I guess it doesn't matter. I trust both of your opinions. I… I guess saying goodbye couldn't hurt."

Hajime looked back at Fuyuhiko. He could tell he was still struggling. He knew he wouldn't get any better until they woke Peko up. For now, though, he just needed Fuyuhiko to keep it together and hopefully with that small amount of comfort. He could.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Not even a little," Hajime replied in a heartbeat. He couldn't take talking about Chiaki right now.

"Oh, come on, I spilled my guts. Now you do you."

Hajime thought for a moment looking down at his now empty bowl.

"I'd love to, but it looks like we should head back now that we've finished breakfast." A cocky smile took over Hajime's face as he lifted his bowl showing it was empty before pointing at Fuyuhiko's shattered bowl on the ground.

Fuyuhiko let out a small chuckle. "Fucking asshole."

They both got up grabbing the rest of the breakfast and started heading back towards Hajime's cabin.

**Sonia, Akane and Kazuichi**

They had been sitting in silence for about five minutes. All of them lost in their own thoughts. Sonia looked around the room. Akane was sitting cross-legged with her back against the wall and hand on her cheek, looking bored. Kazuichi was examining his hands, rotating them back and forth. When he saw Sonia looking at him, he spoke.

"I can't remember how I lost these two fingers."

Kazuichi raised his left hand showing that his middle and ring finger was missing. He then raised his right hand showing that he was also missing a pinkie.

"I remember how I lost my pinkie. Just an accident when making one of the Monokuma's… It's not like safety was a priority, ha…" Kazuichi forced a laugh before continuing. "But I can't remember how I lost these two. It's weird, you would think that would be a pretty memorable event but for the life of me, I can't seem to remember… It… It makes you think. What else am I not remembering."

Sonia turned to look down at her legs. She caressed her thighs, running her fingers over the burns. She remembered exactly how she got them. She had a few different scars on her stomach and chest but roughly remembered how she got all of those as well. Unfortunately, she couldn't relate to what he was going through, but she could understand how unsettling that would be.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much…" Akane held out both of her arms, showing tens of scars covering them. She had more along her legs, neck and face as well. "It's not like I remember where I got all of these." Akane forced a smile before letting out a long sigh. "Honestly… I wasn't expecting to look this bad."

"I know how you feel Akane." Sonia pulled up the baggy t-shirt slightly exposing more of her thigh.

"I… I did not know I would be burned as such."

Akane sniggered. "At least your still pretty." She tapped at the gashes on her face.

Sonia leaned against the wall and hugged her knees hiding her face behind them. "Sorry."

Akane let out a sigh and shook her head. "No… no, I'm sorry. That was just me being an ass. Those burns on your thighs. You don't remember how you got them?"

Hearing that question… a memory slipped in. One of her screaming in agony as a hot press of iron was forced onto her flesh over and over. Sonia started scratching at the burns with her fingernails. Wishing they would come off, wishing they could be removed, wishing she could forget. But the memory wasn't going away. Saliva dripping onto her exposed body from the inflictor. Her cheek being caressed lovingly while it all happened. She scratched at the burns harder.

Harder.

Harder.

She was getting desperate, she didn't want to accept that something like that happened to her. She must have been imagining it. If she scratched hard enough maybe they would go away.

"SONIA!"

Kazuichi called out, breaking her from her trance.

"You're… you're bleeding…"

Sonia looked down, realizing she now had blood under her fingernails. She drew blood from her thigh. It looked disgusting, the mix of purple and red oozing from one her burns. Scratching away at already twisted and corrupted flesh. She hated it. Up until now she always took great pride in her appearance, but she didn't see the point of it anymore.

She stopped scratching and interlocked her fingers together making sure they wouldn't get away from her again. Placing her hands on top of her head, she rubbed it, unsure what to do.

"I think I saw some gauze in the bathroom, one second." Akane got up and walked over to the bathroom. Scavenging through the plethora of medical supplies Hajime gathered last night and dumped in the bathroom she managed to find a roll of bandages and some gauze. She came back out holding them and put them down in front of Sonia. She went over to the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboard finding a small bottle of whiskey. She grabbed it and took a small swig.

"Yeah, that'll do."

She kneeled in front of Sonia, giving her a quick smile before she got started. Dabbing the gauze in the whiskey for a moment she started applying it to the scratch marks. Sonia cringed at the pain for a second before regaining her composure. The scratch marks were surprisingly deep which surprised Akane but when she realized that she was scratching her burns it must have been slightly easier to puncture the skin. After she was done applying the gauze, she unravelled the bandage and began to wrap up Sonia's thigh.

"Do you want to talk about it."

It took Sonia a few moments to reply.

"No."

Akane simply nodded and continued wrapping up the wound. Eventually, she was satisfied with her work and ripped off the last of the bandage before tucking it into the rest.

She kneeled there for a second starting at the bandage.

Suddenly she grabbed Sonia and hugged her really tight. Caressing the back of her head she whispered in her ear. "I'm really sorry Sonia, we all love you. You know that right?"

Sonia was shocked at the sudden embrace. She wasn't sure if she and Akane had ever hugged one on one before and suddenly she was saying that she loved her? She pushed her away at the sudden shock. Akane was far stronger though and brought her in closer, placing her chin on Sonia's shoulder and whispering her ear once again.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay."

…

'…okay?'

With those words. Sonia began bawling her eyes out. Hugging onto Akane like it was life or death she buried her face into her mess of hair and began weeping. Not saying a word, just crying as they held onto each other.

Kazuichi laid back in bed looking up at the ceiling, trying to give them a semblance of privacy. He wanted to help her too, but he didn't know how. So, he decided he would do what he could and give her privacy.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

The tears didn't stop. It hurt to cry. They always seemed to be crying, but… It felt good in a way. This whole time Sonia was trying to ignore what was done to her. To finally accept it. To finally cry about it, felt really good.

A few more minutes passed as Sonia's weeping finally began to ease into a light sobbing, hiccupping occasionally. Her entire face felt flushed and sweaty. Her eyes were swollen, and throat hurt but she felt a bit better. She leaned away finally letting Akane go and looked into her eyes. It seemed she may have shed a few tears as well.

"T-thank you Akane." That's all Sonia could manage while holding back more tears.

"Hey, Sonia…" Akane swung around and sat down against the wall next to Sonia. "I know we've never been super close or anything like that. But… I don't know. It would be cool if we talked more."

Sonia's face lit up. "I would very much like that, Akane!" A big cheesy smile was plastered across her face. She rested her head on Akane's shoulder as they waited for Hajime and Fuyuhiko to return.

* * *

Hajime and Fuyuhiko entered the cabin to find everyone fast asleep. Kazuichi was sleeping on the bed and Akane and Sonia were leaning against each other next to the front door. Neither of them were surprised to find them like this. It was still very early, and everyone was exhausted. They carefully went over to the kitchen bench and placed the bowls and glasses down. Hajime was surprised they didn't spill any on the way here. He placed the palms of his hands on the bench and let out a large sigh, he was exhausted, but he couldn't stop yet. They only had limited time until Naegi and the others found out, and they had to wake up one of their classmates before that. Fuyuhiko sat down on the lino and Hajime decided to join him.

Kazuichi was snoring slightly and fast asleep. He felt bad that they would have to wake him up in a second. He looked across the room to Akane and Sonia. Light was filtering on to them from the windows above Hajime's bed. Akane had blood on her shirt and sweatpants. She still had bruises on her face, the tattoo on her chest and countless scars. But seeing her delicately resting against Sonia. He actually thought she looked cute. Like an old injured dog. Nothing like the Akane he came to know, who was loud and energetic. She looked delicate like she would break with a light touch.

It was peaceful in the cabin, he was surprised that he felt that way. The room was a complete mess, pillows, blankets, food and blood everywhere. It was a disaster. He would have to clean it when he got the chance. Somehow though, it really did feel like home. He felt safe, secure. Maybe it was because of the room, maybe it was because of his friends, maybe it was a mix of both, he wasn't sure.

"Are you sure there is nothing there?" Fuyuhiko suddenly whispered toward Hajime, nodding toward a sleeping Sonia.

He thought for a moment. Looking over toward her he saw her rose coloured cheeks, swollen eyes, tangled hair, and blood-soaked shirt. She looked just as delicate as Akane. The light was glistening off the small amount of sweat around her collarbone. She must have been hot, he wasn't surprised. There were five of them in here and they didn't have a window open. He looked at the burns going up her thighs. He still didn't know how she got them, and he wasn't going to ask. He tried to think hard seeing if there was a chance, he inflicted them, but he couldn't remember anything like that. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad he didn't have to deal with that trauma at least. But he was getting sidetracked. "Are you sure there is nothing there?" He needed to answer his question, he owed him that at least after putting him through what he did. So, he thought about it. He thought about Sonia.

But every time he tries, Chiaki invades his mind. He starts feeling guilty that he's even thinking about another girl and starts hating himself. An unending cycle of depression and h…

All his thoughts were interrupted as he saw Sonia move.

Sonia took a deep breath in and out. Still asleep she stretched slightly letting out a small moan repositioning herself on Akane's shoulder. He saw her muscles slightly quiver at the strain before relaxing again. Her cheeks going an ever slightly rosier colour. That's when a thought occurred to him. One that came from a deep place, one that he didn't have control over. One that didn't consider, the time, place or context. It knew what it wanted and at that moment it wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

'I… want to kiss her?'

Hajime had issues dealing with this fact. It didn't fit into how he saw himself. He agreed that he would consider any kind of relationship with her after he saw Chiaki again so why was he having these feelings now?

'Oh right…'

He realized. It's not like you can just put your feelings on hold for someone until it's convenient and that's exactly what he was trying to do.

'I like Sonia. I like Sonia. I… like Sonia.'

He repeated it a few times in his head confirming it. Yeah, he did. He liked Sonia Nevermind, a princess from a kingdom he had never heard of until he met her.

'Fuck…'

He wasn't exactly thrilled about the realization. It complicated things. First and foremost, what is she didn't like him back? She gave him a solid maybe before, so it wasn't much to go off.

'Dammnit!'

Now he had another thing to worry about. 'Screw you Fuyuhiko'. He was angry that he forced him to have this realization. He took a deep breathe in and out. He had to see Chiaki first. He still believed that at least. He had to see her before he got into any kind of relationship. Not his imaginary version he had to see her A.I. He was now more determined than ever. He was going to save Chiaki, and then confirm his feeling for Sonia afterwards, as the plan had been all along. But now with the added hindrance of him worrying if she was going to like him back this whole time.

Fuyuhiko jabbed him in the ribs. "Come on…"

Hajime let a deep breath in and out and leaned down close next to Fuyuhiko and whispered into his ear.

"Na... I'm outta' her league."

Fuyuhiko cackled in uproarious laughter. Flinching backwards he knocked his head into the kitchen cabinets making a loud *thud* echo across the room waking everyone up. Hajime was laughing now too. Fuyuhiko looked like the idiot this time. He stroked the back of his head a red bump already starting to form. Hajime leaned in close again.

"Yeah… Maybe something… Just… Maybe."

Hajime got up and offered Fuyuhiko his hand. He had a smile on his face, it seemed he was happy that he was eventually honest with him. He accepted it and stood up with him.

"Come get breakfast guys!" Hajime called out, he turned around making sure everyone was awake. He saw Akane's nose twitch, then twitch again. Hajime blinked and she was taking the bowl of soup from his hands.

"AHHH! How did you get here so fast!"

"HUNGRY!"

Akane snatched the bowl of soup from Hajime's hands and poured the whole thing down her gullet in one go. Fuyuhiko and Hajime watched on in horror. He couldn't believe he thought she was delicate even for a single second after seeing her like this.

She slammed the bowl on to the counter and let out an outrageously loud burp.

"Hey, thanks guys!" Akane stood up straight giving them thumbs up.

"Ahh… yeah, no problem."

Hajime and Fuyuhiko looked at each other trying to confirm what just happened. She shoved past them and grabbed a glass of juice. They didn't want to see her ravenous appetite anymore so they both grabbed a bowl each and quickly tried to get away from Akane as if she was going to explode. Fuyuhiko brought his bowl of soup to Kazuichi who was now sitting up in bed rubbing his hands together.

"YES! Thanks, Fuyuhiko!"

"Yeah, no worries."

Hajime headed over to Sonia who was half lying on the floor holding up her upper body with one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other. When she saw Hajime approach, she got a massive smile on her face and wrapped her arms around his neck making sure not to spill the soup.

Their faces were so close he thought she was going to kiss him. He blushed slightly before she leaned her forehead against his.

"I'm glad you're okay," Sonia whispered.

Hajime placed the bowl on the ground in front of them and hugged her back. He didn't know what to say. It was just breakfast after all, he was gone less than an hour. Had something happened?

He let her go and handed her a spoon with a warm smile.

"Enjoy!"

Sonia grabbed the bowl off the ground carefully holding it with one hand.

"Thank you very much!"

Hajime collapsed into a heap. He was still exhausted, he wondered about having some coffee when he noticed the bandage wrapped around Sonia's thigh. That wasn't there before. He leapt forward examining it, carefully checking the bandage. Sonia got a massive fright at her upper thigh suddenly being touched and pushed him away.

"Do not touch a woman without asking permission, first!"

Hajime fell onto the ground with a thud, not everyone in the room must have seen what happened as they all gave Hajime dirty looks, wondering what he did to deserve that kind of reaction.

"Oh, sorry Sonia. What happened to your leg?"

She looked away embarrassed. She didn't want to admit what happened. Hajime noticed this tension and spoke again.

"Ah, look, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to but… I just need to know. Are you okay?"

Sonia continued to shyly look away, she didn't want to look him in the eyes. She simply nodded before going back to her soup.

Hajime, relieved, sprawled back out onto the ground.

Akane and Fuyuhiko sat on the foot of the bed facing Hajime and Sonia who were by the front door.

"I guess it's time to discuss this shit. No point putting it off any longer."

Hajime sat up and sighed, he was right.

"Who are we waking up first?"

* * *

"Alright, I guess I'll go first although it's obvious; Peko… Akane you're up next."

"Nekomaru obviously!"

"I really don't mind who we wake up first… I'll just go along with whatever the group decides I guess?"

"I would like to wake up Gundham Tanaka first but… I understand if someone else is a better candidate."

"As long as we don't wake up Nagito first, I'm happy."

Hajime got a concerned look from Sonia after saying that, but he didn't care.

"Yeah, can't argue with that." Fuyuhiko chuckled.

"Alright, that means we have three options. Peko, Nekomaru or Gundham." Kazuichi rubbed his chin. "So how are we going to pick?"

They all took a moment to think, trying to figure out how to do this.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!?" Akane slammed her fist into her palm like she just thought of a genius idea.

"We're not putting people's lives on the line over a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors!" Fuyuhiko sneered.

"What about drawing names out of a hat?" Kazuichi asked.

"We're not leaving it to chance either!"

They all kept thinking, it seemed they would never come to an agreeable compromise.

"What about the order they died in?" Asked Sonia.

"What does that have to do with anything!" Fuyuhiko snapped. He was getting frustrated, he wanted Peko back no matter what.

"Wait…" Hajime was pale. Did he just not think about it, or was he just given this memory?

"What's up?" Akane asked.

Hajime facepalmed and pulled his hand down his face in exasperation.

"We have a difficult decision to make…"

Everyone looked at him curiously, unsure what he was getting at. Finally, Hajime began to explain.

"Fuck… Alright, look. I told you guys I know how to wake our friends up and that Kamukura gave me the knowledge on how but that's not everything. I have… umm… extensive medical knowledge. Same reason why I was able to fix you all up last night."

"Get to the fucking point." Fuyuhiko didn't like being kept in suspense.

"Right. The longer they are asleep, the greater risk there is for permanent brain damage."

They all stood in disbelief. Brain damage? They didn't even think about that.

"We can wake up your people first, but… it means the people who were asleep for longer, the ones who died first. They will be at greater risk."

Fuyuhiko had his fists clenched, he was about to snap. Hajime regretted putting it so bluntly, but it was the truth. Hajime ignored him, he needed to say his piece first.

"I know how important each of these people are to you but… I…"

"Don't fucking say it." Fuyuhiko had a tear rolling down his face and his teeth clenched. He knew what he was getting at.

"I think we should wake up Imp first."

"NO! Fuck no! Are you kidding me! None of us even know who they really are! Why the fuck should we wake them up first!"

Hajime looked around the room for support. Kazuichi was looking down at his hands unsure what to do. Akane didn't look very pleased either and gave him a disapproving look. Finally, he looked toward Sonia. She had her hand over her mouth and her brow furrowed, thinking. Eventually, she nodded and smiled back at Hajime.

"I agree with Hajime. We should wake up Imp first."

"You're not actually taking him seriously are you!?"

"Wait really!?"

"Woah!"

Fuyuhiko, Akane and Kazuichi all reacted to Sonia's sudden agreement.

"We must put our personal feelings aside and do what is right."

She had made her choice. Now to get the rest to agree with this plan.

"Akane…" Hajime whispered in her direction. She looked extremely uncomfortable. She had a thousand-yard stare on her face while looking down at the ground unsure what to do.

"I… I don't know. I'm… I'm scared guys."

Hajime took and deep breath in and out, he was nervous, he had to get this right. He had to convince everyone that this was the right thing to do or else there would be infighting and discord in the group. Which is the last thing they needed.

"Akane. I know you're scared. We all are, we just want everyone to be okay, but… That's less likely to happen the longer someone stays asleep."

"I know! I know okay… But… That makes me want to wake up Nekomaru even more! What if something happens to him!"

"Hey, Akane…"

Everyone turned to face Kazuichi. No one expected him to suddenly speak.

"What do you think Nekomaru would want? Knowing that by waking him up early it puts more people at risk."

Akane stared at Kazuichi in disbelief. A combination of trying to process what he said and shock that he was the one who said it.

"AHHHHH! Dammit! Yeah okay… You're right. I don't think he would want us to wake him up early…"

Akane stood next to Hajime and Sonia with a big grin on her face before turning back to face Kazuichi.

"When we wake him up, I'm gonna ask him, and if he did; I'm gonna beat the shit outta you Kazuichi!"

Pure horror was across Kazuichi's face as he began to panic. "Hey… Hey… A-Akane? You don't really mean that right!?"

Hajime and Sonia turned to face Kazuichi. Hajime gave him subtle thumbs up, "thanks for the assist!"

"Ahh… Yeah sure, but Akane! What do you mean!?"

'Alright!' Hajime regained his focus. There was one last person to convince as he turned back to face Fuyuhiko.

"GUYS! I'm serious! I don't want to take another beating!"

…

"Why are you all ignoring me!"

Fuyuhiko was clutching at his arms shaking. Darkness overcame his face. He knew that everyone was against him now. The chance of him seeing Peko slipping out of his grasp.

…

He had let her down so many times… He hurt her so many times… He failed her. Well… He decided he wasn't going to fail her again.

"No."

"Fuyuhiko you know this is what Peko would want as well!" Hajime tried to reason.

Fuyuhiko snapped. "Don't you fucking act like you know a goddamn thing about her! She! She… she has to be okay. I… I don't know what I'm going to do if she isn't."

Fuyuhiko collapsed to his knees in defeat. Staring him in the eye nothing but sadness and anger whirling around in it.

"Please… I'm begging you."

"Fuyuhiko…" Sonia muttered.

"I have to apologize. I... I have to make things right. I, I gotta…"

Hajime realized why he wanted her awake so badly. Sure, he wanted to make sure she was okay but a big reason. Was the guilt. Hajime sat down in front of Fuyuhiko, careful not to get to close. "Hey, I'm really sorry to ask this… but could you guys give me and Fuyuhiko a minute?"

"Oh… are you sure?" Sonia leaned down next to Hajime, hands on her knees.

"Yeah, please."

Sonia turned around and nodded at Akane, who helped Kazuichi out of bed. He insisted he was okay but accepted the help anyway. After a few moments, it was just Kazuichi and Hajime sitting on the ground next to the bed.

"Come on Hajime… you know why. I have to know. Does she hate me now? Will, she even let me apologize? Do I even deserve forgiveness?" Fuyuhiko collapsed and buried his face into his arms, raising his knees to his chest trying to take up as little space as possible.

It was strange seeing Fuyuhiko look like this. Look… vulnerable. He always had such a tough exterior, that is was almost enduring seeing him in the fetal position. This was it, he needed help Fuyuhiko to get over this, or else the next few days were going to be hell for him. Fortunately, he remembered going through a similar ordeal and what Sonia said to get him out of it. Now her advice was going to help someone else.

'She really is incredible…' Hajime dreamily looked off into space thinking about her before snapping himself out of it. Now SERIOUSLY wasn't the time for that.

"Do you hate me Fuyuhiko?"

"What?"

"I almost killed you guys last night…"

"Oh, come on dude, we've been over this, again and again, it's not your fault."

"Okay then, do you hate Peko for the things she did?"

Fuyuhiko sat up, furious, tears in his eye and started yelling. "Of course fucking not! How dare you even insinuate th-"

"You answered me in a split second. It's not even a choice for you. It's just a fact. You couldn't hate Peko for a single second. So, do you really think she will hate you?"

Fuyuhiko stared at him for a little while contemplating what he was saying.

"But what if she does…"

Hajime let out a heavy sigh. "Do you want to know what I think?"

Fuyuhiko nodded.

"I think the moment she wakes up she is going to hug you as if her life depended on it. Because just before she died, do you know what she was thinking?"

"What?"

"She was probably thinking of a way to save you and that's exactly what she did. She cared more about your life than hers. When she wakes up, I bet the first thought she has isn't happiness she's alive, but joy because you are."

Fuyuhiko covered his face with his hand again. One last tear dripped down his face but it seemed like he was done crying.

"Fuck… So, you want to wake everyone up in the order they died in. Is that right? Starting with Imposter?"

"Yeah, that's the plan anyway."

Fuyuhiko nodded and slowly began to stand up.

"So, you're on board?"

He stood there for a second with his hands on his hips.

"You know these next few days are going to be really hard for me until she wakes up…"

"Yeah, I know… But we're all here for you. We're all here for each other!"

Fuyuhiko started scratching the back of his neck, very slowly a sly smile started to take form.

"Yeah… yeah… I appreciate that but… I mean if these next few days are going to be hard for me… Then it's only fair that they're hard for you too."

Hajime furrowed his brow confused before standing up and putting his head on a tilt.

"What do you mean?"

An evil toothy grin had found its way onto Fuyuhiko's face now as he stood in front of Hajime, smiling.

"Hey, you guys can come back in now!"

Hajime and Fuyuhiko had a standoff. Hajime was wondering what on earth he was up to. After a few moments, everyone re-entered. Before they could say anything Fuyuhiko spoke up.

"Alright yeah, I'll go along with the plan to wake up Imp or whatever, but I got some way better news."

'What is he on about?' Hajime still didn't have a clue, he was trying to put the pieces together. Suddenly they all fit, a look of pure horror overtook Hajime's face as he tried to cover Fuyuhiko's mouth realizing what he was about to say. But… It was too late, Fuyuhiko easily dodged him and spoke.

"This morning while eating breakfast Hajime snorted soup out of his nose."

Akane, Kazuichi and Sonia's faces lit up. Each of them couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"And not only that… He snorted it back into his bowl and get this… HE KEPT EATING IT!"

Kazuichi and Akane started dying of laughter, they were trying to support each other. Their legs were giving out, they couldn't breathe. Sonia had turned around, trying not to be seen laughing.

Hajime collapsed on to his knees in defeat. The word had gotten out, he would never live this down. It didn't matter what he did from here on out, he could cure cancer, make a time machine, it would all be for nothing. He would always be known as the guy who snorted soup out of his nose. Hajime's social life was over.

After a few more minutes of laughing and mocking they eventually started to calm down realizing they didn't have time left until they needed to wake up Imp.

"Alright, so the plan is for Hajime, Sonia and I to go down and wake Imp up, right? After that, we tell the truth about Kamukura and meet up back here?"

Everyone nodded, they were ready, except for one small problem.

"Um… I am sorry to be a bother but… Would I be able to put on some fresh clothes first? I would prefer to not spend the day in nothing but a baggy t-shirt."

Hajime didn't even think about it. Sonia was still in the shirt he put her in last night after he checked her wounds.

"I have a spare change of clothes in my overnight bag but… I may need some assistance changing into th-" "I VOLUNTEER!" Kazuichi screamed before anyone had time to react.

"No, you won't you freaking pervert. Where are your clothes Sonia? I'll help you out." Akane smiled helping to lead her into the bathroom. Hajime was surprised at the exchange.

"Since when were they so friendly?" Hajime asked.

Kazuichi smiled to himself and sat back down on the bed. He was the only one of them to see their interaction together, it made him feel kind of special. Eventually, Sonia and Akane emerged. Sonia was wearing some black gym shorts with white lines going up the sides, with a grey singlet and still adorning her classic bow.

"Shall we go, gentleman?" Sonia smiled.

"Yeah, let's!" Hajime smiled back.

* * *

He trembled holding the letter. This was it, someone was committed to taking a life. He knew it would happen eventually but was surprised by how soon.

_Be Careful!_

_The first kill will happen tonight._

_Someone will definitely kill someone._

It was a clear message. It wasn't a warning; It was a threat, they had no doubt in their mind. If they didn't intervene, someone would die tonight. He wasn't going to let that happen. He knew he had to do something.

* * *

Things were looking good. Almost everyone was at the party. No weapons in sight. Everyone in a confined and lit room. He was nervous but feeling confident in his plan. It seemed this was the right decision. As if on cue, the room went dark.

"What the hell!? What's going on here!?"

Someone was still going for a murder! Even after everything he had done. Fortunately, he had prepared for this, dashing for the case he flicked it open and equipped the night vision goggles. Panicked he examined the room looking for the wannabe murderer. That's when he saw him. Komaeda following a wire to a table at the edge of the room.

"Th-This is…!"

He sprinted towards him, he had to get there in time. He dived under the table, seeing a knife taped to the bottom of it. Komaeda was reaching for it! He shoved him away and grabbed the knife.

"Ow!..."

He was still on edge but couldn't imagine someone else planning a murder tonight. He had done it! They were safe…. They were going… to…. be… o…

His thoughts were going black, unsure why. He felt a sharp pain in his torso. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another.

It hurt. It hurt so much. Each one more than the last. He couldn't breathe anymore. He couldn't speak, he couldn't think. He just felt… cold. And like that his suffering was over, nothing but blackness remained.

…

They didn't know where they were. Who they were? What they were.

'What's happening?'

They were suddenly here. They didn't hurt anymore. Actually, they didn't feel anything. It was just nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Then… everything.

* * *

Pain. Tremendous pain everywhere. They were no longer cold. It hurt. All these sensations suddenly came to them. They remembered they were just stabbed.

"Oh god, I'm going to die!"

They failed, a murder did a occur and they had been the victim. They failed. They failed! More people were going to die because of them!

"Goddammit!"

They could feel the words struggling to get out of their throat.

"Wait how was that possible."

Like being broken out of a spell they didn't hurt anymore. It was like they were never stabbed in the first place. They felt awful, but no longer in extreme pain. They didn't understand what was going on. They tried to open their eyes. A green hue of green glass was seen directly in front of them and beyond that faces they didn't recognize staring back at them. Three of them. Wait… Maybe they did recognize them? They weren't sure. They heard the three strangers cheering and waving at them. What was going on? They tried to move but couldn't. How were they here? They tried to remember.

Remember…

Remember…

Remember…

They were stabbed and then they were here. They had no clue. They weren't sure if they should be happy, sad, scared or what. None of it made sense. How did they end up in this place? It hurt their head to think so hard. They had to remember. Everything ached. Everything was hurting. But why? Why were they hurt? They weren't stabbed, were they? But they were? Wait what? They were starting to get frustrated with how confused they were. It was like they switched realities. They didn't even know who they were. How was that possible, they didn't even know their name! Anything about their identity. Their thoughts raced, hundreds of different personas and people rushed through their mind, unsure who they were. Were they them?

'Who am I?'

They tried to think of a name. Picturing anything. Someone. Them. They had to know who they were. They couldn't think of anyone. They weren't anyone. In a way that sounded familiar. Like that in itself was their identity. Like they never existed in the first place, just pretending to be alive. Pretending to have a life, an identity. They were an imposter.

Imposter?

Imposter.

That sounded right. They weren't sure why, but they felt a blanket of comfort come over them with that realization.

The green hue of colour suddenly moved away from them, a burst of fresh air hit them. The smell of ocean salt hit their nostrils. Were they still on the island? They didn't know. They managed to find the strength to sit up. It was extremely difficult, and they didn't know why. Suddenly they were being hugged by a blonde woman. It gave them a fright. They looked around and saw three people teary-eyed and warmly smiling at them. Did they know these people?

"Welcome back imposter!"

The black-haired man yelled. Did they recognize him? Everything was still so confusing. But… Imposter. That sounded right. They were an imposter. They were really good at it. They had found a shred of who they were.

The ultimate imposter was awake.

**-10 Students Remain-**

* * *

Authours notes:

Hey hey, everyone! Thanks so much for reading this far! I hope you have enjoyed it!

I wanted to pop in real quick and just make a few things apparent to anyone who has read this far.

First off, 'The Days That Follow' is also available on Archive of Our Own (AO3) in case you prefer that website. I have authours notes after every chapter on there in case that is something that interests you. It's also a great place if you want to give me any feedback or just say that you enjoyed it!

Here's the link or at least the extension after you go to the website. You can also easily find it under the 'post sdr2' tag.

/works/17836481/chapters/42086999

Furthermore, you can also reach me on discord at 'Toffee Pop#1670'. Feel free to ask me anything or just say hi!

Otherwise, all the best! I hope you have a fantastic day!


	6. Lucky

"Hey Imp, how are you feeling?"

What was going on? They may have gotten an idea of who they are but... Where, what, when, who and how… there were still so many questions, but they figured they would start with an easy one.

"Who… are you?"

It hurt Imp's throat to speak. They didn't know why.

The black-haired man reached over and tenderly held Imp's hands with both of theirs.

"Do you remember us? My name is Hajime Hinata."

"Hajime…" Wait… Imp realised they recognised him. He looked different… his eyes were different colours, his hair; long and black and he looked older. Imp looked around and realised they recognised the rest of them.

"Kuzuryu?"

He nodded in reply.

"Sonia?"

She smiled with tears in her eyes. "Thank you for everything you did!"

Imp wasn't sure what she was talking about… Wait… Did she mean the party? Weren't' they stabbed!? Imp panicked and looked down. A chubby, naked body greeted them. A body they didn't recognise. The question of who they were started coming back into Imp's mind again.

"Why am I not fat?"

Imp's head was spinning.

"What… I don't understand any of this. What happened to the party? Where am I?"

Hajime began calmly explaining the situation.

"We were in a simulation called the 'Neo-World Program' its goal was to cure us of despair that we were inflicted with after witnessing Chiaki Nanami's death, do you remember?"

Simulation… Bits and pieces of memories were coming back to them. They were still confused though.

"What do you mean despair? … That island was a simulation?"

A look of concern crossed Hajime's face. Were they meant to know this information already? Imp wasn't sure.

"Yeah, it was… and we were forced to play a killing game. You were killed."

"I was…"

Suddenly it was like the final piece of the puzzle was put into place, everything was coming together. A wave of memories, goals, ambitions, identities, knowledge and most of all **despair** washed over him. Imp felt like he was drowning in all of this. How were they meant to deal with it? Imp didn't know where to begin getting a sense of everything going on, so he latched onto one question he still had. One thing to orientate himself in this sea of confusion.

'How did I get here. How did I get put in this simulation?'

Imp searched for the memory of that event. Everything was so familiar and different at the same time. It felt like going through a familiar book but it being reprinted as a brand-new copy.

Suddenly, Imp found his answer.

A memory. A memory soaked in despair. A memory of a person they knew all too well.

* * *

They were getting closer, cautious footsteps getting louder. The frantic barking of dogs. The hushed murmurs of various guards calling "CLEAR!" Before moving on. Fortunately for him, he had one more ace up his sleeve.

He was hiding behind a dumpster in a dark alleyway. The warm orange hue of street lights crawling their way into the outer edges of the alley. He could see clearly if anyone was approaching, but they wouldn't be able to see him; not until it was too late.

"Come on… Come on… Where is he?"

He had one more target he needed to take care of before he was captured. The ultimate hope. Makoto Naegi. He had seen Naegi earlier looking for him. It felt like at least half of the future foundation was, although it was no surprise. Trying to catch the ultimate imposter was no easy feat. He chuckled to himself with pride. He wanted to get one last person on despair's side before he got taken to the simulation. One last…

"Arrrrghhhh! I don't see the creep anywhere, it's not exactly easy when you don't know who you're looking for! AHAHAHAHA!"

A woman with long dark-purple hair was belly laughing to herself at the edge of the alleyway. Adorning a school uniform and scissors in each hand, there was no mistaking her unique appearance. He recognised her in an instant.

'This is too easy…'

He stood out of his cover and called out to the woman, crossing his arms and putting on the most obnoxious face he could manage.

"How is it possible that you smell worse than this trash, Fukawa?"

"Pooky!?"

She flung herself down the alley, tears in her eyes. Overjoyed to see him.

"W-what are you doing here? I didn't know you were helping us search for the imposter?"

She stopped just in front of him holding both her hands together in front of her chest.

"Well, it seems that my help was necessary. You still haven't managed to find the imposter yet, have you?"

She scratched the side of her head with her scissors.

"Beats me… how are we meant to find someone who can disguise as anyone he wants. Kind of unfair if you ask me."

"Your sentiment is noted, but it doesn't change the fact that he still needs to be found. Now, are you going to help me or not?"

"Oh yes, master! Anything for you! BAHAHAHA! That reminds me, my other half would get a kick out of this. Mind if I switch over for a second?"

'That makes things easier, the other one is less dangerous.'

"Ugh… If you must."

"Okay! I'll see you soon my Pooky bear." She blew a kiss in his direction. He snatched at the imaginary kiss and trapped it in his fist before chucking it away.

She let out a long sigh and zapped herself with the stun-gun. She stumbled back a few steps and held onto her head.

"Oh man… What happened?"

"Hello, Fukawa."

"M-master!? What are you doing here!?"

"Oh, must I incessantly repeat myself?! I've already explained to your other half that I'm here to help you find the imposter. Now, do you mind if we get going?"

"Y-you came all the way out here to help us? Aww. You really do care!"

He cringed at her sentiment. "Oh please. It's only because you are too incompetent. Now let's g-"

He was cut off in the middle of his sentence when a girl with short dark brown hair came racing down the alley. She was going to complicate things…

"Oh, there you are Toko! I've been looking everywhere for you. Why did you run off like…"

She noticed him standing next to Fukawa. An aura of mistrust could easily be sensed as she approached.

"It's amazing Komaru! Master came all the way out here to see us! Isn't he the best!?"

"Oh, I see…"

Her scepticism was palpable. Any moment now he would be found out. He had to work fast.

"While I would love to chit chat… if you don't mind, there is an ultimate despair in this city that needs to be captured."

Fukawa stood up straight, sweating bullets.

"Oh yes. Right away Master! Come on Naegi, let's go!"

The woman named Komaru Naegi was staring him dead in the eyes. She knew. He only had a few moments left before she would call the guards over.

'Wait a second…

Komaru Naegi…

Komaru Naegi?

Komaru **Naegi**!

Is this the ultimate hope's sister? Oh, how fortune smiles upon me!'

He couldn't believe his **luck**. He was starting to feel suspicious that Nagito was around. He had to act fast. There was no way he was going to let this opportunity slip through his grasp.

"Wait for a second!"

Fukawa was about to turn away before she looked back towards him.

"What is it?"

"Were you really going to leave me in the middle of town defenceless? If you don't mind would you be able to spare a weapon for my protection."

Fukawa bowed up and down furiously apologising.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Of course. Here."

She went to hand him a pair of scissors before Komaru raced forward and grabbed her arm stopping her.

"Wh-what are you doing Komaru!?" Toko stuttered.

"Wait, Toko… What if this person is the imposter?" She gave him a deadly stare. She knew it was, she had no doubt in her mind. The question was could she convince her friend in time.

"What, master!? Please! No one could imitate my poky bear without me knowing!" She tried shaking her off, but she wouldn't let go of her arm. After a few seconds of silence, Komaru shoved Toko back onto the ground behind her. She landed with a hard thud as Komaru pointed some sort of megaphone at him. He didn't know what it was. A weapon of sorts? He didn't want to find out.

"Listen to me Toko. This isn't Togami! Can't you tell, he's- "

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Toko shrieked. "How dare you point your weapon at master! "

He realised he needed to get her to stop yelling before she alerted the guards with her screeching.

He raised his hand calmly.

"It's fine Fukawa. Your friends' suspicion is healthy. I easily could be the imposter, there is no way to tell for sure. For the meantime give me the stun gun, until I have gained your trust."

Toko eyes lit up. "Oh, you are so patient with us master! Of course!" She shot Komaru a look of absolute disgust for doubting him. Komaru didn't know what to do. She looked on in horror as Toko handed over the stun gun. Once he had it in his hands, he tested it for a second checking that it worked. He could see an electrical current cross between the two metal spikes. He turned up the setting to the highest voltage and nodded in confirmation before turning back to them.

"Now please get your weapon out of my face and lead on. Where's the next area to check?"

Toko turned around and began prancing down the alley. Proud of herself.

"It's this way! We have the restaurant to check next!"

"Toko wait!"

Komaru still had her weapon pointed at him, but she turned her head around to look at Toko. That's all the opportunity he needed.

He punched Komaru in the gut as hard as he could before turning on the stun gun, shocking her. She collapsed into a heap on the ground. Toko turned around in a panic, but it was too late. He raced forward and tackled her to the ground. Before she could struggle too much, he placed the stun gun underneath her chin and turned it on. She began to have violent convulsions, her head nodding up and down. He let it continue to shock her for a few more seconds before he finally turned it off. She was passed out cold. He quickly turned around to make sure Komaru wasn't waking up. She was still in a heap, face first on the pavement, she wasn't waking up for a while.

"hahahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahaha…"

He did his best to regain his composure, but he couldn't believe how easy it was. A twisted smile latched onto his face. The ultimate hope's sister and Byakuya Togami's love, both passed out in an alley with him. Now he could have all the fun he wanted with them. He slid his hand down Toko's skirt into her underwear.

"Oh, master getting naughty, are we!? And in an alley of all places?"

He got a sudden fright at the now suddenly conscious Fukawa. He quickly realised what happened though as her other half had taken over again. Now things were going to be even more fun.

He slid his hand down; further, he saw she was starting to get red in the face.

"Woah we really doing this? I didn't expect you to take charge like this! But hey, I ain't complaining."

She continued to allow herself to be pinned down by him. He figured she enjoyed it. She stretched her neck out to kiss him. Now he was getting excited as well. The amount of despair he would be able to inflict would be incredible. He leaned down and kissed her back, sliding his tongue into her mouth. He had her right where he wanted her.

He slid his hand deeper into her skirt. She started reaching over towards his crouch, he realised his cover would be blown if she touched him there, so he had to act now. With one swift movement, he pulled a pair of scissors from her underwear and stabbed them into her belly just below her ribcage. She tried to let out a muffled scream, but he slid his tongue into the back of her throat blocking her airway. He figured she would bite down on his tongue, but it seems that even when being killed she wouldn't dare hurt him.

He grabbed the scissors and with all his might managed to tear her open, slicing the scissors down into her stomach. She began to flail her arms and legs up and down trying to escape as tears started to swell in her eyes.

He felt the hot rush of blood travel up her throat and hit his tongue. It tasted so sweet. He slowly slipped his tongue from her mouth, and the moment it left, she wheezed and choked. Eventually coughing up blood all over Imp's face.

He licked his lips to taste the blood she coughed up.

A confused and scared Toko looked up to face him.

"… M-master… w-why?..."

The words only just managed to escape her mouth before she began choking on her own blood again.

He repositioned himself on Toko. Moving the majority of his weight off her waist and onto her stomach. She tried to cry out in agony, but now a massive rush of blood was racing for her throat as she began to suffocate. He leaned down really close to her face and looked her in the eyes.

"I always hated you. I never loved you. I saw this opportunity to kill you, and I took it."

She shook her head furiously not accepting what he was saying.

"Oh, but it's true! We all hate you. No one ever liked you. You disgust me. No one will miss a serial killer like you. You deserve this."

Tears were streaming down her face. She must have realised she was going to die. Or was she starting to believe him? He wasn't sure but either way… The despair on her face was intoxicating. Absolute misery and betrayal. His job here was done. Now to move onto the other one.

He yanked the scissors out from her stomach a small fountain of blood raining as he did so. He got up and started walking away. She lay there with glossed over eyes. Any moment now she would lose consciousness.

"Goodbye Toko Fukawa the ultimate writing prodigy."

He turned away and took a couple of steps towards Komaru before turning back to face Fukawa.

She looked back at him with blank eyes, she was barely conscious, but he hoped she could still hear him.

"Your stories were a piece of shit by the way."

He faced away and walked towards the unconscious Komaru. He heard Fukawa gurgle and splutter and then silence. He presumed she was unconscious now. He heard people starting to draw closer. He didn't have much time. He quickly tried to plan what to do next. Should he just stab her and be done with it? He stood there and thought for a moment before concluding his plan in his head.

He grabbed Komaru by the collar of her shirt and dragged her towards the dumpster he was hiding behind earlier. He opened it up and noted that it was empty. He couldn't believe how **lucky **he was getting. He grabbed her by the knees and flung her over his shoulder before dumping her into the dumpster. He made sure that her airway was clear before going over to Toko. Blood was dripping from her mouth, and her eyes were still open. He grabbed her limp body and carefully placed her corpse on top of Komaru. He closed the lid and chuckled to himself.

At that moment multiple armed guards rounded the corner and pointed their rifles at him. He managed to finish just in time. The flashlights attached to their guns were blinding.

"On your knees now!"

"Hands up motherfucker! Hands up!"

"Hands where I can see them!"

"On the ground! On the fucking ground!"

He shot his hands in the air and got down on to his knees. He slipped his wig off while doing so revealing his short black hair underneath.

"Yup, you got me! I'm the ultimate imposter, take me away."

He heard the guards chatter amongst themselves.

"Wait is that really him?"

"He's the last one, they can start the simulation now."

"Whose blood is that?"

A couple of guards jogged forward and handcuffed him. They grabbed him and carried him toward the edge of the alley, but before he could get there someone leapt out from the crowd and grabbed him by the collar.

"Where's Komaru and Fukawa!? Whose blood is that? Tell me!"

What do you know it was the ultimate hope himself. A scared and desperate pleading was visible in his eyes. His teeth were gritted, and face mean, he was surprised the ultimate hope was even capable of getting this angry.

Imposter chuckled, "I don't know?"

Naegi slapped him and then grabbed onto the sides of his head forcing him to face him.

"WHERE'S MY SISTER!?"

A cocky grin took over his face. He couldn't help it. Seeing the ultimate hope with this much despair was incredible. Instead of answering his question Imposter blew a raspberry in his face covering him with spit.

Naegi wound back his arm ready to punch him when a woman in the crowd grabbed hold of him.

"Makoto, please! That's enough. He's not going to tell you anything. Let's just get him into the truck, okay?"

He recognised her from Junko's killing game. It was Aoi Asahina.

Naegi gritted his teeth and let him go nodding at the guards to take him away. He heard Asahina comfort him as he was dragged towards the vehicle.

"I'm sure they're both fine! Everything will be okay! I promise!"

He didn't plan to tell them… but that setup was too perfect, he couldn't resist.

"Hey, mister Hope! Why don't you check the dumpster…"

He wanted to see the look of absolute fear and panic on his face, but unfortunately, he was shoved into the truck before he could. **Lucky** for him a different face was waiting for him.

"Why hello there. Imposter I presume?"

"Nagito! I knew you were around here somewhere! My luck was far better than usual."

Nagito calmly smiled back in reply. He was chained to a metal beam on the edge of the truck and had a metal chain hanging from his neck. His hair was messy as usual, and he had some smudged marker on his face.

"Are you ready for the simulation?"

Imposter warmly smiled back. He had been looking forward to it for a long time.

"Absolutely! I can't wait to kill you all!" Imposter chuckled.

Nagito laughed. "Good luck with that. Feel free to kill trash like me first if you like."

"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer." Imposter smiled.

The truck started up, and they took off towards whatever destination awaited them. It was silent for a while before Nagito suddenly spoke up.

"But you know… Hope might find a way to surprise you. What if we survive the simulation?"

Imposter sighed and rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the question.

"Well then if we do… I'll make sure despair wins in the end!"

Nagito nodded, "I guess we'll see, won't we?"

They both turned to the front of the truck; hearing static coming from the radio.

"Yasuhiro you there?"

After a few moments, they heard someone pick up the radio, breaking the static.

"Hey, little man! Were on our way to the ship. What's up?"

"Toko's dead…"

"What! No way! No one could take down that psycho!"

"Listen…

…

…

**Don't tell Byakuya about this**…"

* * *

Imp sat there in bewilderment. Not accepting that was a memory in their head. They were like that? Was it from a film they watched? Something placed there by the simulation? Imp looked back before that. Days, weeks, months, years, it didn't matter. After high school, it was all the same. New disguises, new missions, new people but the same goal. **Despair.**

Sonia leaned down and looked up at him with sorrow in her eyes.

"I know it is hard to accept. It is an awful prospect to realise you have done those things but… we were brainwashed. It was not our fault."

Imp was still remembering. Blood, death, cruelty. It didn't matter what he was doing. It was always awful, inhumane, sickening. Was this the person they really were? A sick and twisted psychopath.

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

_**Wow.**_

They had found their identity. What a relief. He remembered why they were here now.

He slowly got up from the pod with Sonia and Hajime's help.

"Woah, careful there big guy," Fuyuhiko warned.

Imp looked down at his body, he could almost be considered skinny. Only a few bits of fat remained from his once obese form.

Imp chuckled.

"Not as big as I used to be though, aye?"

Hajime cracked a smile. He was surprised at how well Imp was taking this. He figured the reality of the situation hadn't dawned on him yet.

"Please, take this." Sonia handed Imp a blue hospital gown with white polka dots.

"Thank you, Miss Nevermind." Imp smiled warmly back at her, accepting the gown and putting it on.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Oh, ah, wake everyone up… I guess, what do you mean?" Hajime asked.

Imp turned around and faced the three of them confused.

"Who do you need me to disguise as?"

Sonia took a step back and gasped. Hajime and Fuyuhiko looked equally as startled.

"Why would we need you to disguise as anyone Imp?"

Imp was just as surprised as them to get that question. That's when the reality of the situation dawned on everyone.

**They were on different sides.**

Imp smiled at them with a big toothy grin, "well that's a shame…"

A tense silence filled the room… No one knew what to do next. Imposter looked around the room, seeing various objects placed on the floor around his pod. Food, water, clothing, a first aid kit and **wire cutters.** He looked at them for a split second but that's all it took, Hajime and Fuyuhiko were now on edge. His eyes met with Hajime's. They both knew what the other was up to. Hajime was the closest to them out of the three, so it was between him and Hajime. Who was going to get the wire cutters first? A few more seconds of silence, the tension was palpable. Finally, Imp spoke shattering the deafening silence.

"Hey, Hajime… What's the time?"

That's all it took, Hajime was now distracted thinking about their question. Imp leapt towards the wire cutters. Hajime reacted as quickly as he could diving on them as well. But he was too late. After a quick struggle, Imp had the wire cutters against Hajime's throat.

"BACK THE FUCK UP!" Imp shouted at Fuyuhiko who was ready to jump on him. Fuyuhiko was panicked, he looked towards Hajime for confirmation.

"It's okay… It's okay."

Fuyuhiko relaxed a little and took a few steps back. He hated it, but he didn't have a choice. Sonia looked on in horror, frozen with fear.

"Up!" Imp grabbed Hajime under the armpits and stood him up. The cold touch of the wire cutters pressed against his throat. While they were an unconventional weapon, they were still deadly. A slightly edged tip with thick metal holding it together, Imp could easily shove it into his throat if he wanted to. Now it was a standoff. Everything would be for nothing if Hajime died. Only he knew how to wake everyone up.

Imp could see fear and desperation eat away at Sonia and Fuyuhiko's faces. It was beautiful.

"Oh, I wonder what faces you would make if I stabbed these into Hajime's throat?" A sick and twisted smile contorted Imp's face. "What would you do as you watched him bleed out?"

"Please don't!" Sonia yelled in futility. It's not like that would convince him.

"What do you want?" Fuyuhiko carefully watched Imp, looking for even the slightest opening.

Imp looked at them both with a shit-eating grin on his face. "I think you both already know what I want. That's why you're so scared. You already know what's going to happen."

Fuyuhiko gritted his teeth. He had to do something fast.

"Don't do this…" Fuyuhiko muttered.

"Awww…" Imp forced an exaggerated frown onto his face. "You can do better than that." He twisted the pliers into Hajime's throat causing a flow of blood to start rushing down his throat.

"NO!" Sonia screamed.

She knew what he wanted. He wanted to turn them back. He wanted to make them feel despair. He was going to kill Hajime in front of them. This was only going to end one way. With Hajime's death: everything would be in vain, everything would be for nothing, no one was going to be saved, everyone would die, there was no happy ending.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

But that was something Sonia was not willing to accept.

* * *

**One Hour Earlier**

It would be easier if they weren't spotted, so they took the long way to the lab going around the beach. It was midday at this point, the sun was scorching hot as usual, so it wasn't exactly a pleasant walk. For the first time since waking up, Hajime felt like swimming but quickly dismissed the idea realising he still needed to focus. This was it, they were going to wake up their first classmate. He was rather excited.

They all walked next to each other, Sonia and Fuyuhiko either side of Hajime. The island was a bit bigger than it was in the simulation, so they had a few hundred meters to go until they reached their destination. They decided to walk near the ocean where the sand wasn't blazing hot so it wouldn't burn their feet. The ocean water felt nice, cooling them down a little. Now everyone kind of felt like swimming.

They all complained about the heat as they slowly trudged their way there. Eventually, Sonia broke the string of profanities coming from Fuyuhiko with a question.

"Imposter was dressed as Ryoma Mitarai for most of our school lives, correct? Whatever happened to the real Mitarai?"

Fuyuhiko started humming "ummmmmmmm" while scratching the side of his head. Hajime stopped walking.

He remembered what Mitarai was put through by Junko. He was the maker of the brainwashing video. Billions died because of him.

'If he hadn't made it then… if he… dammit.'

He realised it was unhealthy thinking like that. It was also very hypocritical. Only one person was to blame for what happened, and it wasn't him. Although he would be lying if he didn't have a little bit of resentment towards him for what he did. Hajime realised that he now had a better idea of how people felt towards them. He could relate to their hatred now.

"Actually yeah, I do. He works for the future foundation now… I think? Last time Kamukura checked anyway."

Sonia and Fuyuhiko stopped walking and starred at Hajime.

"Wait, what?" Fuyuhiko stammered.

"How do you know who Mitarai is?" Sonia asked.

He forgot… only Nagito and Chiaki ever met him before they were despair. Did they even know what Mitarai did?

"Oh yeah… I met him while I was Kamukura. Before the school shut down." Hajime covered his face with his hand. Whenever he thought about the school, memories of her would invade his mind. He started feeling sick.

"Oh, I see…" Sonia stood in silence for a moment, she could see how distressed he looked. "Did you… did you hurt him?

Hajime waved his other hand in front of him dismissively.

"Oh no, nothing like that. But ah… do you guys know what he did?"

Sonia and Fuyuhiko traded a look of confusion.

"Right… don't worry about it. I think it's better you didn't know anyway…"

He peeked out between his fingers to see how they were reacting to what he said. Fuyuhiko looked very sceptical while Sonia looked concerned.

"Are you sure?" Sonia asked.

Hajime breathed a deep sigh and nodded before removing his hand from his face. He gave them a weak smile before facing away toward the ocean.

"He did bad things like the rest of us. That's all..."

The three of them looked towards the ocean for a little while. Letting the cool water lap at their feet.

…

"ARRRRRGHHHHHH" Fuyuhiko let out a heavy sigh breaking the serenity. "Fucking whatever. I don't care, let's just go wake this dude up. I want to get out of this heat."

Sonia and Hajime looked at each other and smiled. He was right.

"Lead the way baby gangsta!" Hajime pointed toward Fuyuhiko winking.

Fuyuhiko looked thoroughly unimpressed but Sonia let out a small giggle, so it was worth it.

"Hajime I'll beat the shit out of you if you say that again. No joke."

They continued towards the lab.

* * *

The heat was bearable now, but it was still unpleasant. After a few flights of stairs, they had made it to the pod room. The green glow of the pods greeting them. Fuyuhiko raced over to Peko's pod, checking the monitor next to it making sure her vitals were okay. He left out a sigh of relief before resting his upper body on the pod, hugging it. Sonia and Hajime nodded at each other before going around and making sure everyone was still… well… alive. Hajime could hear Fuyuhiko whispering under his breath still hugging the pod. He tried his best to ignore him and continued around the room.

They were obscured by the green glass and some of the gel but… it was strange seeing his friends lying right there in front of him. It felt like a vast chasm separated them and at the same time nothing but thin glass. It was a weird thing to get his head around. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted though when he looked in the next pod and saw Nagito. He reflexively recoiled away, almost tripping himself up.

'Dammit...'

He guessed Nagito would be laughing at him right now. Mocking him for being so stupid. He slammed his fist onto Nagito's pod causing the blue gel inside to bounce around slightly. He looked down onto Nagito's unconscious face. It was hard to tell what he looked like through the glass, but he didn't seem to have any significant scars or burns which pissed him off.

'Why did he get off so easy? Why couldn't Sonia be okay, or Akane.'

He felt so frustrated with how unfair everything was. In the end, he guessed Nagito just got **lucky**.

'Lucky… lucky… lucky…'

He was sick of hearing the word. He was sick of luck, sick of his luck. All it ever did was screw the rest of them over while Nagito would always come out on top. His damn luck caused Chiaki's death.

"Fuck! You fucking asshole!"

Hajime slammed at the glass wanting a response.

"Why'd you do it huh!? Why'd you kill her? Was it to get back at me? Because we were despairs? Fucking answer me!"

Nagito unconscious face hadn't moved a muscle.

"AAAHHHHH!"

Hajime slammed the glass harder. He wondered if maybe his luck caused all of this in the first place. Anger and hatred overtook him. He felt nothing but a seething rage towards him.

He wanted to _**strangle him**_… he was the reason the murders started.

He wanted to _**hurt him**_… he caused them all so much grief and pain.

He wanted to _**kill him**_… **He.** **Killed. Chiaki.**

"Hajime…" Sonia grabbed his shoulder giving him a fright. He looked over to her, a look of concern clearly visible on her face. Taking a step back from Nagito's pod, he realised he couldn't handle seeing him yet, the wounds he inflicted were far too fresh.

"Hajime… It's okay… he can't hurt us."

He looked back toward Sonia a little confused. At that moment he realised his entire body was shaking. Was he really this scared of him? This angry? He collapsed backwards hitting the floor with a loud *thud*. Fuyuhiko was now walking over wondering what was going on. Hajime curled up into a ball, covering his head with his arms and raising his knees to his chest. He felt like he was back in the class trial. That horrible realisation of knowing Chiaki was going to be executed. That same feeling of feeling Nagito laughing at them, taunting them... he felt the same way now. It was like he could see it…

**THAT SAD DEFEATED FACE.**

"fuck… fuck… fuck…"

He started rocking back and forth not wanting to sit still. He couldn't breathe anymore. It felt like Nagito himself was choking him. The world was collapsing in around him, he felt like he was going to break under the pressure of it all.

"FUCK... FUCK… FUCK…"

He wanted to run, he didn't want to do this anymore. If he woke up Imposter, then Nagito was one step closer to coming back into his life. He couldn't handle that thought. He imagined Nagito taunting him about all the things he did while despair.

"_What's your excuse Hajime? You weren't brainwashed, were you? You wanted this!"_

He was getting louder.

_"The moment you get any kind of talent, and that's what you do with it? You really are pathetic."_

He was so loud.

"_You did this to us Hajime! If you hadn't taken the surgery none of this would have happened! It's all __**your fau**__-" _

In the darkness of his thoughts a face suddenly appeared in front of him; Sonia's. He realised she was squeezing in between his legs and chest trying to fit into the ball he made with his body. He let some of the tension go from his knees, moving them back a little, letting her get in closer.

"What are you doing?" Hajime asked startled.

Sonia saw her chance. She had enough room now. She wrapped her arms around Hajime's chest and sat down on his thighs making sure he couldn't trap himself in a ball again.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay."

She remembered the words Akane had told her earlier, she was hoping it would be able to help Hajime the same way it helped her. Sure enough…

Hajime grabbed hold of Sonia and began bawling his eyes out. She kissed him on the cheek and rested her chin on his shoulder. She caressed the back of his head but with his beanie and ponytail were in the way which made it a bit awkward. She also hurt her ribs by crawling on him like that, but it was worth it to see him calming down.

"Hajime, I promise, I will not let him hurt you. I will not let him hurt anyone."

Hajime was suddenly back as if a dark presence had been lifted. All he could do was panic and now… he just felt stupid for it. But Sonia managed to bring him back… once again.

He did his best to stop crying and leaned away to look at Sonia. Her head was on a slight tilt with her long hair flowing onto the ground beneath them. She had what could only be described as a cozy smile on her face. One which was reserved for an old friend or family member. He felt so warm and safe having that smile directed towards him.

"Are you okay now?"

He barely heard what she said, he was still entranced with the look on her face. He didn't know such a sweet and loving expression existed.

"Hajime?"

The look was gone now, one of confusion replacing it. He wondered if he would ever get to see it again. He really wanted to.

"Right… yeah, I'm okay. Sorry about that."

She stood up and offered a helping hand. Hajime gladly accepted and stood up to find Fuyuhiko bashfully looking away. He was leaning up against a pod near them trying to act as casual as possible.

"You alright?"

Hajime realised he must have seen everything that happened. He felt embarrassed that he saw him that way but quickly justified that it was nowhere near as embarrassing as snorting out soup.

"Yeah…" Hajime awkwardly scratched the back of his neck not wanting to make eye contact.

"Shall we get started?" Asked Sonia.

She was right. No more getting distracted, it was time to wake up the ultimate Imposter. Hajime slapped himself on the cheeks trying to get himself in the right mindset.

"Alright let's do this!"

He needed everyone to be ready for what was ahead, so he needed every one as ready as he was.

"Let's do this Fuyuhiko!"

He held out his hand offering him a fist bump. He chuckled and accepted, fist bumping him back.

"Hell yeah!"

He then turned to face Sonia who was full of glee. She had her hands held up near her face in closed fists. Clearly, she was thrilled at the prospect.

"Let-"

Before he could even start his sentence with all her might, Sonia punched Hajime's fist with full force. In unison, they grabbed onto their wrists and cried out in pain.

"Sonia why!?" Hajime cried exasperatedly.

"AHHH!" She was still crying out in agony. "I'm sorry! I thought that is how you perform a 'fist bump'!"

After a while of agonising pain, it eventually receded into a throbbing annoyance as they both caressed their knuckles. They could hear Fuyuhiko laughing his ass off next them.

"Holy shit! Sonia, you have to be the dumbest person I have ever met!" Fuyuhiko cackled.

"Hey!" Sonia cried with a pout. Clearly a little annoyed at his comment.

"Oh man, you two should be a comedy duo. Seriously!"

Sonia and Hajime exchanged looks. Both of their eyes lit up. They knew exactly what to do.

"Fuyuhiko, may I tell you a joke?" Sonia asked.

Fuyuhiko replied with a puzzled look before Sonia continued.

"Knock knock."

"Um, who's there?"

"Interrupting cow."

Hajime took a deep breath in preparing himself.

"Interrupting cow w-?"

…

Sonia and Hajime celebrated being able to get another person to laugh at their dumb joke. With Sonia feeling proud of herself, Fuyuhiko still laughing and Hajime feeling a lot better they split up getting ready to wake up Imposter. Sonia and Fuyuhiko got together a hospital gown, food, water and some **wire cutters**. Meanwhile, Hajime looked around for the control room.

…

After going up another floor and down a hallway, he came across a dimly lit room filled to the ceiling with monitors, a mouse and keyboard on a massive desk below them. It was small with only a single window on the opposite side from the door. It all looked intimidating as hell but he kind of thought it was cozy in a weird way. He smiled thinking how Chiaki would have loved it. He sat down on a swivel chair in front of the monitors trying to get a grasp on how many screens there were. He counted around 19. After sitting there for a few moments getting the nerve to get started, he reached over to the mouse and wiggled it a little. All the monitors remained dark except for the one directly in front of him. It reading…

**ACCOUNT NAME: MIAYA GEKKOGAHARA**

**PASSWORD: **

'Oh no…'

He didn't think about there being a password. Although it made perfect sense for there to be one.

Hajime buried his face in his hands letting out a long-defeated sigh. It was over before it even began. They would have to tell the future foundation about Izuru Kamukura and hope for the best. He knew there was next to zero chance of him guessing correctly, but he figured he may as well give it a shot. He didn't know this 'Miaya Gekkogahara' so he didn't even have an inkling of what it could be. He tried a few random guesses with the first things that came to his head.

**ACCOUNT NAME: MIAYA GEKKOGAHARA**

**PASSWORD: HOPE**

**-ERROR-**

**ACCOUNT NAME: MIAYA GEKKOGAHARA**

**PASSWORD: HOPES PEAK**

**-ERROR-**

**ACCOUNT NAME: MIAYA GEKKOGAHARA**

**PASSWORD: 11037**

**-ERROR-**

**ACCOUNT NAME: MIAYA GEKKOGAHARA**

**PASSWORD: FUCK YOU**

**-ERROR-**

"Goddammit!"

Hajime slammed the keyboard in frustration before letting out another long sigh. There was no point, he should just give up.

…

He had one last idea though, a trick he used to use on his old laptop. He hit 'CTRL-V' on the keyboard.

**ACCOUNT NAME: MIAYA GEKKOGAHARA**

**PASSWORD: GALAGA**

"No fucking way…"

He hit enter...

A whirling of computer fans and hard-drives started. All the monitors came to life displaying a bunch of different words and pictures. Hajime quickly realised that it was everyone's student IDs accompanied by their vitals and hope fragments collected. On the monitors directly to the left and right of him were swirling lines of code continually moving. It all looked totally sci-fi to him. On the monitor directly in front of him was what looked like a typical desktop which was of great comfort to see something he understood.

"Holy shit! I did it!"

Hajime clapped his hands together and leaned back in his chair. He couldn't believe how **lucky** he got.

'Oh wait...'

Lucky. There is it was again. Was it just luck? Kamurkura's luck? Maybe even Nagito's luck? He didn't know, but his celebration was over. He didn't do anything, he just got **lucky**.

The idea that Kamukura's luck may have transferred to him was starting to become a big possibility to Hajime. A few times now he realised he got lucky but did his best to not think about it. If he really did have Kamukura's luck, then it must not be something Kamukura can suppress, like his knowledge. It made sense; luck was something passive, not something learnt. Hajime wasn't sure if he was happy or sad about this development.

On the one hand, it meant he would have good luck for the rest of his life, but on the other, he could never take complete credit for anything he did. Did he do something right? Or did he just get lucky?

Now he felt more useless than before he entered the password. He started questioning everything that's happened up to this point. Did he actually accomplish anything at all? Or was it just dumb luck?

He was starting to panic again but was able to calm himself down. For now, he would just have to ignore it. He examined the monitors and realised what he needed to do. He clicked on a text box on the left monitor and started typing. Kamukura left a bunch of letters, numbers and symbols in his head to type out verbatim. He realised he was using some kind of programming language but couldn't recognise which one. After a few more minutes of typing furiously and carefully, he was done. He had no idea what he typed; all he knew is that it would work. The last thing to do was enter in the name of who he wanted to wake up. He looked around each monitor looking for the right one. Eventually, he came across it in the top left corner. 'Byakuya Togami'. He was entered in under that name instead of Imposter, so he put that into the program and clicked enter.

'That should do it.'

He made a mental note of the password before starting to log out. Before he did though, a small icon on the desktop caught his eye. He examined it closer and realised what it was.

'Galaga'

The password made sense now. It was accompanied by a little icon of the spaceship from the game. The same one Chiaki had pinned in her hair.

Without thinking…

He clicked on it…

A wave of emotions washed over as the chiptune began to play. Nostalgia, happiness, sadness, memories of a simpler time, memories of a friend he missed more than anything in the world.

He sat there bewildered by it all. He hadn't moved a muscle just staring at the prompt on the screen.

_**GALAGA**_

1 Player

2 Player

Memories from a lifetime ago began resurfacing. Ones he thought long forgotten. A fountain, a pink-haired girl, the setting sun on the most fantastic school in the world. One he admired more than anything, one he loved more than anyone else…

they were both gone…

and they were never coming back.

The tremendous amount of loss he felt was too much. Hajime fell off the chair, collapsing onto the floor and started hyperventilating again.

'Please not now… not now…'

He was starting to panic even more. He realised he had to get away. He did his best to stand up and run off with the limited amount of air he still had left in his lungs. He thought he was going to pass out. He needed to find Sonia. He needed to see her now. He raced down the stairs nearly tripping on them as he sprinted for the pod room.

Sonia and Fuyuhiko were both standing above Imposters pod waiting for Hajime to get back. They smiled as he entered but quickly changed expressions when they saw how flustered he was.

"Hajime!" Sonia shouted. "What is wrong!"

Hajime practically leapt into Sonia's arms almost knocking her over. He hung onto her for dear life feeling like she was the only one who could support him in the world. Sonia didn't know what was going on; all she knew was that Hajime was hurting. She rubbed up and down his back with one hand and grabbed the end of his neck with the other.

"Just breathe Hajime… It is going to be okay. You are okay."

Hajime's frantic breathing started to turn into slow breathes after hearing Sonia's voice. It was so soothing. The moment he embraced her he felt like everything was going to be alright.

"I'm sorry… I…"

"What the fuck happened!" Fuyuhiko interrupted Hajime.

Hajime let go of Sonia and started pushing her away. She resisted slightly, looking him in the eyes wanting to make sure he was okay. He nodded in confirmation, and she let him go.

"Ah sorry. I… freaked out." Hajime did his best to give a reassuring smile. "Everything's fine. Imposter should be awake in a little while."

Fuyuhiko clutched at his heart and took a couple of steps back, supporting himself on one of the pods.

"Jesus dude… you don't have to scare us like that."

"Sorry…"

He heard Sonia let out a relieved sigh. It seemed he worried her as well.

"What upset you Hajime?" Sonia asked.

He didn't want to think about it, it was still too hard. He felt like he lost all the things he cared most about, all over again.

"…I don't want to talk about it."

Sonia let out a slight huff through her nostrils. It seemed she didn't like that answer.

"You sure dude? You told me it's good to talk about this stuff." Fuyuhiko commented leaning against Imposters pod.

Sonia nodded in agreement. She realised she was being hypocritical though being that she didn't want to talk about her burns, but that's when she got the idea.

"Hajime." She wanted to get his full attention before she continued. He looked toward her dejectedly. "You do not have to tell me if you don't want to but… I just need to know. Are you okay?" She smiled warmly, hoping he would realise that he said the exact same line to her this morning.

Hajime got a goofy smile on his face. He took a deep breath in and out before speaking. "Thank you, Sonia…"

Sonia continued to smile warmly. She then turned back a little to face both Hajime and Fuyuhiko.

"Shall we get back to it?" Sonia asked sweeping her hair back over her shoulders. It got a bit messed up each time she hugged someone.

Fuyuhiko knocked on Imposters pod with a closed fist. "We don't have much of a choice. The gel in his pod is already receding."

The process had already started, there was no taking it back now. The ultimate imposter was waking up.

"You guys ready? I'm guessing this is going to take a lot of explaining…" Fuyuhiko sighed.

"Yes… this will be difficult…" Sonia commented discouraged.

Hajime was nervous too, but now wasn't the time for hesitation. They were all in the wrong mindset for this. He clapped his hands together startling Fuyuhiko and Sonia.

"Come on guys! We got this!"

Sonia and Fuyuhiko couldn't help but smile at his optimism.

Fuyuhiko chuckled and held out his hand offering a fist bump to Hajime. He liked how he could bring them all together when needed.

Hajime slyly fist bumped him back half joking, laughing at the corny nature of their interaction. What they didn't realise at the time was the massive mistake they made.

"My turn!" Sonia cried.

Fuyuhiko and Hajime looked at each other in horror. They didn't think about Sonia when they bumped fists. It was just a spirit of the moment type thing but… they couldn't be rude and not let her join in. They both gulped getting ready for the ordeal.

They both cringed and held out their fists. Sonia didn't seem to notice having all her fixation on her own hands. She stared at her knuckles determined to do better this time.

She very slowly and carefully moved both her hands towards Hajime and Fuyuhiko. Hajime closed his eyes bracing himself. He then felt the ever so slightest touch against his fist. Sonia had very carefully placed her knuckles against theirs. She still looked extremely focused with her tongue ever so slightly poking out of her mouth.

Hajime let out a relieved sigh,

'it looks like she learned...'

"Oh come on Sonia that was way too weak for a fist bump!"

Hajime couldn't believe what he just heard. A person he thought was his friend just betrayed him. He looked toward his 'x-friend' to see what the face of betrayal looked like. He had a dumb grin on his face and his other hand giving him the middle finger.

"Oh really?" Sonia knew she had to do better and fast. She didn't want to screw this up again.

She wound back her arms and punched both their fists.

…

Fuyuhiko was cry laughing on the ground attending to his hand. In his mind, the pain was worth it.

"Sonia how are you so bad at this!?" Fuyuhiko laughed with exasperation.

"I am trying my best!" Sonia cried. He actually felt a little sorry for her. Was she actually trying her best?

Hajime was shaking his head at Fuyuhiko while biting his bottom lip. He whispered, "you absolute ass," under his breath making sure Sonia couldn't hear. Fuyuhiko was proud of himself, he was starting to enjoy messing with them.

At that moment they heard some stirring coming from the pod in front of them. They all forgot about the pain and rushed to look.

Imposter was waking up.

* * *

She saw Hajime's nostrils flaring. He was taking shallow bated breaths. She could see that he was in pain, the oozing of blood trickling down his neck. Everything happened so fast Sonia didn't know what to do. But she had to do something.

'I need to think… how do I convince Imp to let Hajime go? How do I cure him of despair?'

But…

She already knew how to cure someone of despair,

after all… she had done it once…

**and it was the biggest mistake of her life.**

She was avoiding thinking about it this whole time. A memory kept in the deep dark recesses of her mind; the ones she wouldn't dare go near if the situation didn't call for it. The ones she wanted to forget more anything. An experience like no other. One she never thought she would have to go through, and it was all inflicted upon her by a person in this room.

She looked down at her bandaged leg. She wanted to start scratching it again. She didn't want to deal with this trauma. Not now, not here.

But…

She didn't have a choice.

By using the information, she gained from that experience it was, in a way, accepting that it happened. Which was something she couldn't do. She was starting to get sick just thinking about it.

She heard Hajime breathe in through gritted teeth, Imposter was driving the pliers deeper into his throat.

"Oh, come on now! Is that all your hope can manage!?..." Imposter taunted. "Your time is running out."

"Please… please just let him go." Sonia fell onto her knees and begged. She didn't want to do this. She couldn't accept this.

'What did I do wrong? What did I do to deserve these scars!?'

Sonia's mind was racing, trying to think of any possible way to get out of this situation without admitting the truth to herself.

"Sonia…"

She heard Hajime mutter. She looked towards him through teary eyes.

"It's okay… I-I'm so sorry we couldn't save everyone..."

Sonia let out a small whimper and covered her face with her hands. She couldn't take this.

**Hajime was going to die,**

and she was collapsed on the ground, useless. Having the power to do something but not the will to use it. Even in the face of her friend's death she still couldn't accept what happened to her. Even when Hajime just accepted that he was going to die.

'HOW SELFISH CAN I POSSIBLY BE!'

"AHHHHHHH!" Hajime was screaming in agony. Imposter was tearing at the flesh along his throat. Dragging the wire cutters along the cartilage.

"Time's almost up…" Imposter sneered.

"Chiaki!" Sonia yelled. That was it. She had to accept what happened. "You remember her, right?"

A brief flicker of a person was seen in the eyes of Imposter for a moment before despair snuffed it out.

"Oh! Our glorious class rep who got penetrated in front of us? Of course, how could I forget! What about it?"

"What…"

It didn't work…

A long time ago… What felt like a lifetime now. When she was in despair. She was faced with the reality of her friend, she remembered Chiaki. By doing so, she was able to come back, back to herself. Undo the brainwashing that was inflicted upon her. She was able to free herself of despair.

But…

It didn't work for him…

The bloodlust in his eyes was still there. He was still brainwashed. What could she do? What was she missing? If it worked for her, it had to work for him. What was the variable? What was the constant?

'Think Sonia think!

I have solved a double murder attempt at a party!

I have solved the case of a ninja serial killer!

I have solved a double homicide at a rock venue!

I have solved the murder of a robot with hamsters in a funhouse!

I have solved what was thought to be an unsolvable crime!

I can do this!

What is the answer!?

What is the connection between Chiaki and freeing me from despair?'

"Oh wow! You really thought saying our class reps name would do something?" A dark scowl overtook his face, "pathetic… you know what. You're out of time."

"Wait! Just… One moment! Please!" Sonia cried. She needed more time to think. She was about to lose her best friend. A person who she had only recently met but now couldn't imagine her life without them in it. A person who she cared so much for. Just like…

Chiaki…

That was it she found the variable. After one more moment, she realised his.

"Ryota Mitarai!"

She saw another flicker of a person in his eyes. A burning desire to hear more about someone he cared so deeply for.

"What… what about him?"

His voice... It changed. It was no longer of someone sadistic and cruel. It was of someone scared. Someone who wanted to know if their friend was alright.

"Mitarai, he is alive. I promise you. You can see him again."

…

"He's…

…

alive?"

Imposters hands began to shake. A war was being fought inside him. One of two minds. One begging to know more, the other telling him to drive the pliers into Hajime's throat and be done with it.

Tears began to swell in his eyes. He was being torn apart at the contradiction inside himself.

'Ryota Mitarai' why did that name mean so much to him? He couldn't figure it out. It was a disguise, just a person they met. Who? Them. Who was them? If they were a psychopathic killer, then why did they care. They? Who? What?

Everything was confusing again. He had nothing to orientate himself with anymore in this sea of confusion.

Imposter's hands were shaking too much. He dropped the wire cutters and let Hajime go. Why did he try to kill him in the first place? He wasn't even sure. Hajime dived away onto the ground and crawled away holding his bleeding neck.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Imposter collapsed onto the ground holding his head. It was pounding. Nothing was real anymore. He couldn't even trust his own ambitions and goals. The same questions were starting to rise. Ones he thought were already answered.

"WHO AM I!?" Imposter screamed in frustration. "WHO! I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS! WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

Sonia jumped next to Hajime making sure he was alright. He nodded at her seeing her obvious concern.

She wanted nothing more than to cry and hug him but… she wasn't going to let another friend of hers suffer like this.

"Ryota Mitarai." Sonia started.

Imposter looked up with confusion.

"That's who you were disguised as in high school remember?"

Imposter searched through the different personas and people he had disguised as. Ryota Mitarai, the ultimate animator, he had found him.

"You covered for him in class, pretending to be him so he could follow his passion, yes?"

He did. But why? Why did he do that? He couldn't figure it out.

"Then when you learnt he was in danger. When you learnt Miss Yukizome was in danger. We all tried to help them remember?"

These strange memories in his head. A weird stack of hundreds of different lives. In none of them did it require him to do that. But he remembered he did. So why?

"Byakuya Togami. You were disguised as him in the killing game just before. Do you remember that as well?"

…

"Well, you died trying to save us." Sonia began tearing up. "You did! Not Byakuya Togami. You! I do not know who that person is, and I don't think you do either but… he is a courageous and caring man who put his life on the line for the sake of others."

"Wait but…" Imposter didn't understand any of this. Everything she said was right. He wanted everyone to be okay no matter what. He tried to save everyone. He…

He made a promise.

He wasn't going to let anyone die.

He did. Not Byakuya Togami. He. The person. The imposter made that promise. A shred of a personality. A scrap of an identity that belonged solely to them.

There were still so many unanswered questions. He felt sick, confused, angry and hurt… but.

He had found a scrap of who he was.

He started gagging and dry heaving. It felt like a beast was trying to crawl out of his very being. Eventually, he threw up a blue gel he didn't recognise.

Wait…

No, he did recognise it…

He remembered seeing it envelop him before he went under. Before he went into the simulation. The simulation designed to free them of despair. To turn them back into the people they used to be.

The puzzle pieces were coming back together but forming a new whole. A different perspective.

A sickness had been purged. An identity. A persona that was trying to control him. That did control him. A twisted and sadistic psychopath.

But…

He was not one identity.

He was many.

He was an imposter.

That psychopathic persona did not define him.

And at the base of those personas and disguises was a person.

A real person, who cared. A person who cared for a man named 'Ryota Mitarai,' and he wanted nothing more than to know he was okay.

"He… he's okay?" Imposter stared at the blue ooze slowly dispersing itself across the ground. What happened to him?

"Yeah…" Fuyuhiko grabbed the pliers off the ground and walked over to Imposter. He crouched down next to him and did his best to give him a warm smile. It came off as creepy if anything. He tossed the cutters in the air before catching them while speaking. "He works for the future foundation now. The people who put us in there."

Imposter stared at the Yakuza. His mind was racing. It had so many things it was trying to figure out. So many questions and concerns but…

'He's okay.'

That's all he needed to know. That one piece of information gave him the strength to go on. He wanted to see him. To tell him he was sorry, and that's when he realised.

He wanted to do those things. **He did.**

He had a foundation, a building block for a personality, a persona that belonged solely to him.

"Hajime!"

Imposter suddenly heard Sonia yell in exasperation. He looked across the room, Sonia was on top of Hajime hugging him and crying her eyes out. "Hajjjiimm…" She trailed off crying bringing him in closer. Hajime was a little red in the face from the attention but hugged her back with a sweet smile on his face.

Imposter's eyes started tearing up, it just occurred to him what he did. He looked down at his left hand, his index finger and thumb were dripping with Hajime's blood.

'I almost killed him.'

Imposter got up from his slumped over position and kneeled, placing his forehead on the ground in front of him.

"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! I… I don't know what happened. I still don't know what's going on but… I'm so sorry Hajime."

…

He had never seen Sonia so emotional. She was nuzzling his chest with her forehead and weepingHe, she truly believed that he was going to die. He felt terrible for her, but the thing is… he felt extra terrible for how good it felt having her on top of him like this. Having her body against his, it was a little bit much.

But more than that… it was nice seeing someone cared. Seeing Sonia care for him this much, feeling this loved. It was foreign to him.

"Sonia…" Hajime whispered while she took a breath between her cries. She looked up at him with those big blue eyes he loved so much and couldn't help but smile. "You saved me, you saved Imposter, you saved all of us. Thank you."

He hoped that would help, but it made her cry, even more, he actually started feeling his shirt getting a little damp from her tears and sweat. "Aww…" He couldn't help but audibly communicate just how cute he thought she was. He wasn't even upset at this point just enjoying the attention of a girl he was just starting to have feelings for.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

'Oh shit!' He totally forgot about imposter for a moment there… being preoccupied with Sonia. He managed to slowly push Sonia off his chest and sit up. She still didn't want to let go opting to now hug him around his waist, but it was fine at least he could face imposter now.

"Imposter… I really don't know how to say this but…"

Imposter cringed, getting ready for the onslaught of verbal abuse.

"No hard feelings."

"WHAT!?" Imposter audibly shouted.

Hajime smiled back with a bit of a cheeky grin. "Seriously… we've all been through so much, and I mean… talking to you now." Hajime scratched at the side of his head awkwardly and looked away. "Honestly it would just feel weird being mad at you… It's like you're an entirely different person now."

Imposter stared back with surprised eyes. "Different person…" He looked down at his hands, his right hand was perfectly clean. It didn't have any blood on it at all. He took that hand and covered his face only managing a whisper through his tears. "Thank you…"

Fuyuhiko patted him on the back and leaned down from where he was standing to get closer to his level. "It's nice to meet you." He winked.

**You.**

Imposter started bawling his eyes out. He had finally found who he was. He wasn't that awful creature that he was before and it seemed, they all agreed. A massive weight was lifted off Imposters shoulders, he finally had a starting point. One question had finally been answered.

'Who am I?'

Now for the rest. So much still didn't make sense, but… It seemed that these people… or maybe even friends? Would be able to help him and that was such a comforting thought.

All of a sudden, he was being embraced from all sides. Hajime, Sonia and Fuyuhiko gathered around and made a big group hug around him.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay." Sonia whispered.

At that point, any kind of resistance from these emotions broke. He collapsed onto the ground into a fetal position and started weeping. He wasn't exactly sure why; he wasn't sure why anything was happening; all Imp knew was that he had to cry, and it felt like he was finally being cleansed doing so.

Eventually, he felt it… this awful disease that had overtaken him, this horrendous feeling… It was gone, it had been there for years, and it was finally gone. What was it? He wasn't sure, but he had never felt so light in his life. So incredible and free.

"THANK YOU!" He managed to shout. He couldn't possibly express his gratitude towards his friends enough, but he hoped a simple thank you would suffice for now.

"What the hell…" He heard a voice he didn't recognise.

"Oh shit…" he heard Fuyuhiko mumble under his breath.

Imposter looked up from the huddle to see a surprised woman with purple hair in the doorway. She was wearing a suit jacket with a tie and skirt.

"You… another one woke up." He heard the woman mutter. "That's fantastic, but how?"

Sonia looked towards Kirigiri with tears in her eyes. "We have a lot of explaining to do."


	7. One Step Back, Two Steps Forward

**Akane & Kazuichi**

"August, really…" Akane's usually energetic form drooped into a slumber as she covered her face with her hands, "it's been that long…"

Kazuichi let out a small sigh, "yeah… how many years does that make it?"

Akane was slumped next to the front door of Hajime's cabin facing the foot of Hajime's bed where Kazuichi was sitting cross-legged. They closed all the curtains so they wouldn't accidentally be seen, so they both sat in a hot, dark and messy room. Blood, blankets, medical supplies and pillows littered the floor.

Kazuichi waited for a reply from Akane, but it never came. "Your birthday is in July, right?"

Akane weakly smiled back. "You remember, huh?"

Kazuichi shrugged, "the month at least."

A lengthy silenced followed as they brewed over the realisation.

"So…" Akane started. "I guess we missed a few birthdays?"

Kazuichi sombrely smiled, "I guess so."

Akane rubbed up and down her face with her hands, making her face stretch out as she pulled down.

"I thought I was sixteen literally only hours ago and now..." Akane paused before she finished not wanting to say it out loud. They both stewed in the heat, realising that they were far older than they felt.

In the smallest, quietest voice he had ever heard Akane use, she whispered, "Twenty-two…"

Kazuichi couldn't help but cringe hearing that. It was so hard to wrap his head around that so many years had passed. His time as despair was a complete blur and then suddenly being transported back in time to his younger self, it all felt so surreal. He felt sixteen, eighteen and twenty-two all at the same time.

"You okay?"

Akane let out a long sigh and rested her chin against her hand, "I guess."

Kazuichi didn't know exactly how to feel either.

"Hey, Akane…"

"Yeah?"

Kazuichi paused wondering if it was okay to ask what he was thinking. Eventually deciding to go for it.

"Do you think any of your family survived?"

Akane's face hardened in thought.

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yup."

Kazuichi didn't need her to elaborate.

"You?"

"Na."

Akane nodded, she didn't need him to elaborate either.

Silence consumed the room. Nothing but dark thoughts invading Kazuichi's and Akane's minds.

…

Eventually, Akane let out a frustrated groan while pulling at her hair and shaking her head.

"Why do we have to go through all this shit? Suddenly we're in fucked up bodies, everyone we loved dead with the rest of the planet hating us… It's just… It's too much to deal with… we're only fucking kids."

"We're not kids anymore."

Akane slammed her fist into the door next to her, "yeah, I got it! Thanks."

She was pissed. He couldn't blame her.

Kazuichi wasn't sure what to do. Everything sucked, everything was hard, and all they could do about it was sit in a hot and dark room.

Kazuichi saw Akane tracing over the scars on her face with her index finger, following each one. He lay down on the bed and breathed out a heavy sigh.

"Do they bother you?" He asked aloud.

He was met with silence for a while, but he could still hear the light tracing of her finger over her skin.

"I don't know. I didn't really care about my appearance before, but it's like… I was confident enough with myself that I didn't need to. But now, I don't know… I feel gross. I feel ugly."

Kazuichi sat up in bed and looked over to Akane with a puzzled look on his face.

"I mean I get what you're saying, but do you actually feel ugly?"

Akane got an annoyed look on her face, "yeah you idiot! Didn't I just say that?"

Kazuichi got a sly grin on his face looking Akane up and down.

"I don't know how to break this to ya Akane… but you're still crazy hot. I mean we used to talk about you in the locker room sometimes and…" He realised she probably didn't need to hear all the details.

Akane stared back with a surprised look on her face for a second before laughing uproariously.

"You serious!? That's hilarious! You freaking perverts!" After laughing for a little while Akane's look softened. "Do you really think… I'm… still… alright?"

Kazuichi let out a nervous chuckle feeling pretty embarrassed now. He scratched the back of his neck and looked away while answering. "I mean yeah… those scars really don't mean much. You're still crazy pretty…"

Akane sat there for a second in awe. She got a delighted look on her face before it turned to absolute terror. "WAIT! Are you hitting me!?"

"What? No! I only have eyes for Miss Sonia!" Kazuichi yelled pointing an accusing finger at Akane.

Akane chuckled. Kazuichi was annoyed but quickly got the giggles as well. It felt good laughing, even if it was at himself.

* * *

"So…" Kirigiri was sitting on the edge of the sink, arms and legs crossed with a scowl on her face. She lightly tapped her arm with her index finger in annoyance while speaking.

"Let me get this straight. Last night Kamukura threatened to either kill or maim Hajime if he didn't meet with Sonia. Instead of telling us about this ultimatum, you decided to do what he said and were beaten half to death. Then STILL! Instead of saying anything, you come down here and wake up one of your classmates who then almost kills Hajime. All this just because you weren't sure that you could trust us with the information that Kamukura was still alive. Do I have that about right?"

Hajime, Sonia and Fuyuhiko kneeled in a line in front of Kirigiri with their heads bowed in shame. They couldn't help but feel embarrassed when she spelled out their plan like that. Imposter was taken to the next room over by Naegi so he could get filled in with everything that's happened, have a shower, a meal and a change of clothes.

"We're sorry."

"I am so sorry!"

"Sorry 'bout that."

Hajime, Sonia and Fuyuhiko all said in unison dejectedly.

Kirigiri facepalmed and let out a massive sigh. "Honestly… you are older than us, but it feels like I'm dealing with children sometimes…" Kirigiri paused after realising what that implied. It's not like they could mature while they were psychopathic murderers. So, in a way, they kind of were.

Hajime fidgeted with hands. He felt terrible that Kirigiri was upset with them and he couldn't blame her. They went entirely behind her back and got severely injured because of it… but…. Hajime couldn't help but feel justified in his actions. Because there was something Kirigiri didn't know about, an unknown variable that would screw them over the first chance it got, and it was standing in the corner with a mocking smirk on its face.

"Well… It seems you have learned your lesson. Next time maybe get help from the professionals, who know how to deal with despair, instead of almost getting yourselves killed." His tone of voice was mocking and pretentious. He had the upper hand on them now, and he knew it. He enjoyed watching them squirm and suffer.

"Hmph" Togami let out a satisfied huff and walked toward where Sonia was kneeling. "I thought you would be smarter than this, but it seems the blonde pigment of your hair got the better of you," Togami leaned down in front of Sonia's face trying to be as imposing and agitating as possible. "I expected more from you, 'princess.'" He made it a point to emphasise 'princess' since he knew it annoyed her.

Hajime looked to his left where Sonia still kneeled with her head bent down. Togami's cocky face uncomfortably close as a contorted, evil smile dominated her. Hajime was furious, none of this was Sonia's fault, it was his plan and his problem. Why was she getting the third degree? He was about to snap when he saw Sonia's face.

She looked exhausted, depressed and distant. Like she was barely aware of what was going on around her. Hajime felt a sinking feeling in his stomach seeing her that way, he hated it, he had to make her feel better. But just as Togami started another round of cocky and mocking insults, Hajime saw a tear roll down Sonia's face. She was crying, and he was mocking her for it.

"Wow, you would think a princess would have a thicker hide than this." Togami sniggered somehow able to get his face even closer to hers.

"That's enough!" Kirigiri yelled cutting him off.

Togami let out an annoyed huff through his nostrils breathing onto Sonia's face before getting back up into a standing position.

"I mean really, can we even trust these people? Look at them. They don't trust us, so why should we trust them?"

Hajime hated him. Even now he was still trying to screw them over, but he didn't care anymore. All his anger subsided when he saw Sonia crying. Hajime got up and pushed Togami away putting himself between Togami and Sonia.

"What the hell is wrong with you? What are you now, a school bully?" Hajime spat. He let Sonia hide her face behind his shoulder.

"Agreed. I don't believe belittling them like this will achieve anything, Byakuya." Kirigiri got up and pulled him away getting him to sit down next to her.

Fuyuhiko stood up and put his hand on Hajime's shoulder, supporting his decision. He eyed down Togami with a judgemental stare.

Kirigiri sighed followed by an awkward silence filling the room.

"You okay?" Hajime whispered to Sonia resting his chin on her head.

She didn't reply. She continued to rest her head against his shoulder silently. Hajime started wondering what was bothering her, was it just Togami's comments or was it something else?

"What's done is done. I suppose it worked out in the end so we can't be too upset. In any case, we were looking for you for a reason."

Fuyuhiko took charge by answering Kirigiri realising Hajime and Sonia were a little preoccupied.

"Oh really? What's up?" Fuyuhiko took his hand off Hajime's shoulder and leaned against what used to be Imposter's pod.

Darkness overtook Kirigiri's face as she intertwined her hands in front of her, a concerned look stared them down.

"A storm is coming."

"Huh?" Fuyuhiko was confused about why that mattered. "And…"

"A massive tropical hurricane is going to be sweeping over the island in a matter of days. We don't have the right equipment to measure exactly how strong it's going to be but… we need to prepare for the worst."

"Oh…" Fuyuhiko understood the concern now. Hajime and Sonia silently listened to the conversation; both their minds occupied with other things. "So, what, we have to evacuate or something?"

Kirigiri breathed out heavily. "I'm sorry, but no. You will be staying here, Naegi, Togami and myself will be leaving, however."

"What?"

"Yes, well… this is an unfortunate situation. We're needed back at base… we wanted to stay longer, but we can't leave in the middle of a storm so… there you have it."

Fuyuhiko let out an annoyed huff and faced away, crossing his arms. "So, let me guess, we can't come with you because we're too dangerous."

"Bingo," Togami smirked.

"I'm sorry." Kirigiri sighed. "We wanted to stay longer, but we have to go back as soon as possible. The contention of whether or not you should all be killed is still a hotly debated topic at the foundation. I'm afraid if we do not return immediately, the situation may turn against our favour."

"So what…" Fuyuhiko groaned, "we just have to hope we don't die?"

Togami winked, "good luck."

Fuyuhiko shot him a dirty look.

"It's okay Kirigiri. I know you are trying your best. Thank you for everything you do." Sonia joined the conversation, seemingly recovered now. Hajime sat down next to Fuyuhiko while Sonia continued kneeling.

Kirigiri couldn't help but get a small smile on her face. "You're welcome… I really am sorry. I've… I've only known you all for a short time but well…" Kirigiri's cheeks got bright red, clearly showing affection wasn't her strong suit. "I can tell you are good people."

"AWWW!" Sonia now infatuated with the bashful Kirigiri broke out of her melancholic trance and dashed toward her, embracing her.

"H-hey!" Kirigiri muttered surprised as Sonia wrapped her arms around her.

"We love you too Kirigiri!" Sonia cried half-jokingly.

Kirigiri very timidly returned the gesture putting her arms around Sonia before muttering in her ear. "I'm really sorry, you deserve better than this… you all do."

Sonia couldn't help but tear up at how nice it felt to have someone give such approval. "Thank you… Kyoko." Kyoko let out a small gasp in surprise. "Is it okay if I call you that?"

"I… *cough* I suppose." She hugged back just a smidge tighter.

Eventually, Kirigiri put her arms to her sides clearly a little overwhelmed by all the affection. "C-can you, please… get off me now."

Sonia let go with a satisfied smile on her face and leaned on the pod next to Fuyuhiko.

Togami groaned and rolled his eyes at the whole interaction, Hajime and Fuyuhiko gave him nothing but death stares the entire time.

"Since honesty seems to be the theme of this conversation let me be perfectly transparent with you all." Kirigiri composed herself, a severe but equally concerned stare taking over her face.

"Every building on this island except for the research lab isn't designed to withstand storms like this.

This whole island was initially built as a holiday resort, while it was in construction - the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history occurred causing the development of the resort to stop. After the tragedy, the Future Foundation took ownership of the islands and has set up various facilities across each one. This one, in particular, was designated for the research and development of 'The Neo World Program' with a research facility being built on the island."

Kirigiri sighed, shifting the weight from her shoulders she hunched over slightly, her serious expression being dropped for a more honest and sadder one.

"What they failed to do was various safety checks of the buildings already here. Because of this… certain emergency precautions are missing from the island. There isn't any kind of shelter, the cabins and hotel aren't reinforced, and the power lines all come from the main island so if they are ruptured or cut off for some reason - the island will be without power for the foreseeable future."

"Wait are you-" Fuyuhiko was cut off as Kirigiri spoke louder still trying to say everything she needed.

"While most of the island's populations are being evacuated, the central island is being set up as a refuge for people who need to stay here for whatever reason. Unfortunately, … You can't go there; they have permission to shoot on sight if they see any of you approaching."

"It's that bad…" Hajime muttered under his breath, getting to terms with everything they were being told.

"Now…" Kirigiri put her palm over her face and let out an exasperated sigh. "While this is all very concerning it gets worse, as the designated guards that patrol the outer waters of the island are being evacuated as well."

Kirigiri lost all composure and slammed her fist on the sink she was leaning against. A loud bang echoed around the room. "I argued for hours with these damn people, but they wouldn't listen…" Kirigiri put on a mocking voice impersonating the people she was talking to, "'_I'm sorry Kirigiri we just can't afford to put good men in danger' - _assholes."

Kirigiri looked at Hajime, Sonia and Fuyuhiko's faces, evident panic and fear darkening their surprised expressions. "What that means is… Intruders on the island, are a very genuine possibility."

"What…" Fuyuhiko stammered still getting to grips with what she was saying.

"As I said earlier, your recovery is still a very controversial topic at the Future Foundation, as well as the neighbouring islands. Riots and protests have broken out on some. Many of the individuals living on these islands are refugees Japan meaning many were either directly or non-directly affected by your actions. Some have even…" Kirigiri paused, wondering if she should continue.

"What?" Hajime muttered. He had to know.

"Some have even run into members of your class personally. Many having loved ones killed or deformities from their encounter."

…

They could barely stand to listen. No longer were their sins in the past, no longer were they just memories. Here they were hearing the consequences of their actions, people living right now still feeling the effects of the terrible things they did during despair. They all felt selfish; a heavy focus was put on themselves. How they were affected by their own actions, their loved ones, their bodies, but now… hearing it out loud. Just how many people had their lives destroyed by them. It was as if a new perspective that had barely been considered was brought to their attention. A whole new reality of guilt had been brought upon them.

None of them had any more to say. They all understood why they weren't allowed to leave the island. Despair burrowed its way deeper into their psyches, reminding them all that it was still a part of them, and they would never escape from it. A reminder that they could never return to their normal lives, not after what they had done.

Togami delighted in their despair, watching them suffer just as they had caused so many too. He felt even more justified in his loathing contempt towards them.

"So yeah…" Kirigiri could sense just how much what she said upset them, she especially hated seeing Sonia looking so utterly hopeless and depressed. "I'm worried someone, or 'someones' may use the opportunity to take revenge."

Fuyuhiko had heard enough, he stood up and walked over to Peko's pod placing the palm of his hand on top of the glass. She was his number one priority, he wouldn't let anyone hurt her, no matter what.

"Anything else…" Fuyuhiko stated dispassionately.

"We have been ordered not to give you any weapons or items to defend yourselves with, in the event that you use them to attack one of the fellow islands."

Fuyuhiko stiffened his hand, his fingers squeezing against the glass making an awful squeaking sound.

"So, what… we have to defend ourselves with kitchen knives?"

Kirigiri's expression darkened. She looked down in silence not wanting to reply, Togami saw his opportunity to taunt them further and took it upon himself to answer Fuyuhiko's question.

"Oh, my dear boy, I don't think you understand. In the eyes of the 'Future Foundation,' you're prisoners here, hell. I don't know if they even think that highly of you. More like you are all an experiment to see if the 'Neo World Program' can actually help those that deserve it."

Togami revelled in delight being able to break the reality of the situation to them. A cocky grin had cemented itself on his face, it hadn't left since he entered the room.

"You won't be defending yourselves with kitchen knives because they trust you all so little that we have been ordered to remove any dangerous objects off the island when we leave." Togami kicked at a suitcase by his feet. A clatter of metal objects rang throughout the room. "Don't worry though, we've already got it all."

Hajime and Sonia looked on with panicked faces as Togami taunted them with the information. Fuyuhiko listened with an attentive ear while staring down at Peko's unconscious body, only listening to the relevant information.

"Honestly, the future foundation is probably hoping that you die before we return. Either from the storm or a good Samaritan taking it upon themselves to enact justice."

"Togami… can you put aside your prejudice for two seconds?" Kirigiri scoffed.

Hajime stood up and began panicking, pacing around the room and scratching at his head.

"FUCK! FUCK! What are we going to do!? They want us to die!?"

Sonia realised she was close to having a panic attack, and just focused on controlling her breathing as much as she could.

Hajime and Sonia's panicking were interrupted by the calm and collected voice of Fuyuhiko.

"You really hate us, don't you?"

He was still staring down at Peko's pod, but it was clear the question was directed towards Togami.

Fuyuhiko let out a big sigh before he could answer, "that's fine. I'm used to it. But you should know that the people in this room… they're the only family I have left."

He turned away from the pod and faced Togami with nothing but hatred, anger and determination on his face.

"And I won't let anyone hurt my family…" Fuyuhiko got a pained expression on his face, "not again…" he quickly recovered his determination.

"So, take whatever you want, tell your suits back at base that we're Satan's spawn for all I care because I don't give a flying fuck what dickheads like you think anymore! We have been crawling through a river of shit neck deep for four goddamn years now, and I will not let it all be for nothing! These are some of the kindest, most wholesome people I've met in my entire life and if anyone thinks they deserve this kind of treatment – they can go fuck themselves. These people are my family, a family that actually gives a shit about me. A family that has so much love it makes me want to puke. So, if you think I'll let anyone touch a goddamn hair on their fucking heads…

Then I'll play the bad guy you make us out to be,

**I'll fucking kill them**."

The room fell silent at Fuyuhiko's outburst. It was surprisingly eloquent, intimidating and comforting all at the same time. Both Hajime and Sonia felt a little bit safer knowing Fuyuhiko was this determined to keep them safe. Sonia's eyes sparkled hearing the triumphant speech clearly impressed; Hajime felt a bit embarrassed that he was cared for so much. Kirigiri let a small smile slip, happy that someone was standing up for them. Togami on the other hand, his cocky expression barely moved a muscle.

"Oh… Is that so?" Togami said with a calm threatening voice.

"Sorry Byakuya, it looks like your taunts have fallen on deaf ears. It seems you may have underestimated them." Kirigiri smirked.

"Did you say the same thing to Pekoyama when she died in your arms?"

Hajime and Sonia gasped at the cruel and vicious words Togami spat, but Fuyuhiko wasn't fazed.

"Hey, asshole." Fuyuhiko got up real close right in front of Togami's face making sure he could feel his breath when he spoke. He licked his lips and stared him directly in the eyes with an unblinking gaze. "Say her name again, and I'll break your goddamn kneecaps. Are we clear?"

Togami's cocky grin had retreated when being confronted with direct confrontation.

"I'm not letting anyone get hurt."

"Neither am I."

Imposter suddenly entered the room with Naegi in toe. Imp was wearing a black t-shirt and white shorts. His hair was still wet from the shower and stuck to the back of his neck, but he looked a lot better than he did before.

"I don't really know what's going on here but, I made a promise a long time ago. That I wasn't going to let anyone become a victim, and I intended to keep that promise."

He stood next to Fuyuhiko and smiled; they were a united front against Togami. It sent a clear message; 'if you want to hurt them, you're going to have to go through us first.'

Naegi sensing the tension tiptoed in the room and whispered to Kirigiri, "what did I miss?"

Kirigiri sighed and whispered back, "just a dick-measuring competition, I'll explain later."

Togami had finally shut up not sure how to reply, which was very rare for him. Satisfied, Fuyuhiko relaxed a little and grabbed Imposter by the shoulder leading him over to Hajime and Sonia.

"Hey, feeling better bud? You still confused as shit?" Fuyuhiko laughed.

Sonia and Hajime smiled at Imposter as they approached, happy to have him back.

"Yeah… Naegi helped clear up a lot, but I still have so many questions." Imposter let out a nervous chuckle.

"Thank you, guys." Hajime looked up in awe at the two. While he was freaking out, they stood up for them. He was really grateful to have them around.

Sonia stood up and gave them both a quick hug, reaching her arms around them both. "That was amazing you two! I got bumpy geese listening to your speech!"

Fuyuhiko chuckled. "Ah, the saying is 'I got goosebumps,' Sonia."

"Oh, I see!" Sonia blinked a few times in confusion. "But geese do not have bumps, I do not understand." Sonia looked very genuinely concerned, which made them all laugh.

"I think it's to do with how geese get bumps when you pluck their feathers." Said, Imposter.

"Aha! I understand now!" She very clearly didn't understand. "But why are people plucking the feathers off geese?"

They all facepalmed in exasperation. "Sonia, how many languages do you know again?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"I can fluently write and speak in thirty different languages," Sonia claimed proudly holding her right arms bicep with her left hand.

They all stared at her sceptically. She started panicking looking at all their faces.

"DO YOU NOT BELIEVE ME!?"

"Say 'I'm going to beat you up in Spanish!'" Fuyuhiko suddenly yelled pointing at Sonia.

She let out a small gasp in surprise being put on the spot like this before thinking for a moment and then speaking.

"Te voy a dar una paliza!"

They all looked with delight, impressed that she could do it so quickly.

"Quick say 'I sell sea shells at the sea shore' in Portuguese!" Hajime yelled.

Sonia banged at her head with closed fists thinking for a second before speaking.

"Eu vendo conchas na praia."

"Alright Sonia, last one, are you ready?" Imposter asked with a mischievous smile.

Sonia held her fists out in front of her determined, ready for whatever was coming.

"I'm going to get you to speak French okay. Say this back as fast as you can. Don't even think about it, speed is the key here, alright?"

"Oui."

Imp paused for a second looking at both Hajime and Fuyuhiko and winked at them.

"3.. 2… 1… 'My name is Sonia Nevermind, and I like eating ass.'"

Seemingly without thinking Sonia repeated the phrase back in French as fast as she could.

"Mon nom est Sonia Nevermind et vous me sous-estimez!"

Hajime and Fuyuhiko coiled over with laughter.

Imposter gave an approving nod with a big smile before saying "Je suis Imposter et je t'ai sous-estimé" and winking.

Sonia warmly smiled back and couldn't help but giggle slightly herself.

"You speak French?" Sonia asked.

"I wouldn't be a good Imposter if I didn't have a few languages under my belt."

…

Kirigiri and Naegi smiled at each other. They couldn't help it as they watched them joke and laugh together. Watching them interact like that, even after how hard it was, how much they had to sacrifice to get it to happen, seeing them like that; happy. It made it all worth it.

"Imposter! My man! It's going to be good having you around, I can tell already!" Fuyuhiko jostled against Imposter, impressed with his creativity.

"Haha, thanks." Imposter blushed slightly and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have a few more things to discuss before we go." Kirigiri felt terrible about interrupting, but it was necessary.

The four them then looked toward Kirigiri expectantly, ready to hear what she was going to say.

"While the situation is quite dire, I do have some good news. The lab has a backup generator, so if the power does go out on the island, your classmates in the pods will be alright."

They all breathed a sigh of relief. Not having that to worry about was a huge comfort.

The room then fell into an awkward silence. No one was sure what to say next.

"I guess Kyoko explained everything to you, huh?" Naegi spoke up, wearing a sad and slightly angry frown. "I'm really sorry. You guys really do deserve better than this." Togami scoffed, but Naegi ignored him and continued speaking. "Best case scenario, the storm is nothing special and all you get is some rain for a few days, worst case scenario… well…" Naegi looked forward meeting all of their gaze's head on. "I believe in you guys. You'll make it out of this okay. I have hope!" He gave them a weak smile, doing his best to comfort them.

"Can we please get going already, I don't want to stay here for any longer than I have to," Togami complained. Kirigiri and Naegi both nodded weakly, they didn't like it, but they had already stayed longer than expected with Imposter suddenly being awake.

"You are leaving right now?" Sonia asked surprised.

"Sorry, we're already late as it is. We didn't account for Imposter waking up and taking up extra time." Kirigiri gave Sonia a weak smile.

"If that's so… I have something I need to say before you leave…" Imposter stepped forward; darkness washed over his face.

He walked up to Togami and looked him in the eyes. Togami looked at him with a judgemental stare uninterested in anything he had to say. Imposter began to tear up looking at him like this, he then got down on his knees and placed his forehead on the ground in front of him.

Togami, shocked by this recoiled a little "What on earth are you doing?"

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

Fuyuhiko, Sonia and Hajime looked at each other with confusion, unsure what he was apologising for. Naegi and Kirigiri looked horrified and began to panic as they tried to indicate for him to stop.

"There is no way mere words can make up for the pain and anguish I have caused you. I don't expect you to forgive me for what I have done, but I just want you to know. That I truly, and honestly regret my actions."

Togami was utterly confused as he looked around the room seeing if anyone knew what he was talking about. When he saw the concerned looks from Naegi and Kirigiri though he understood.

In the smallest voice they had ever heard Togami use, he whispered.

"It was you?"

He was starting to shake, with fear? Anger? They weren't sure.

"You killed Toko?"

"I'm so sorry," Imposter muttered. His forehead still against the ground, they could hear him starting to cry.

Shock and confusion were the only things on Togami's face. Any kind of bravado and cockiness had faded away in an instant. He faced back toward Kirigiri and Naegi.

"You knew?"

They both looked away, unsure of how to answer.

"Wow." Togami looked back down toward the person who had brutally murdered Toko. He saw her corpse after it was recovered. She had been sliced open while still conscious; she suffered before she died.

Togami began to tap the sink he was leaning against rapidly. A swell of anxiety, anger, sadness and confusion washed over him.

Kirigiri got up and faced Byakuya. "Togami, look-"

"NO!" Togmai stood up as well and pointed an accusing finger towards her. "Don't you dare speak to me!" He backed away from everyone in the room going towards the corner, trying to get as far away as he could.

"Byakuya please, I'm sorry" Naegi stuttered.

"You…" Togami was starting to tear up, "I thought I could trust you. I… I thought we were friends! I've done so much for you!" Togami started screaming. "THAT'S WHY I'M HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Naegi very slowly tried to inch towards Togami while speaking. "I know… I know… and I'm so sorry we didn't tell you sooner, but you already hated the idea of rehabilitating them… so… we didn't want to risk it."

"YOU LIED TO ME!"

Naegi nodded, there was no denying that fact.

"AFTER EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN THROUGH! You… you… coward."

Togami took a deep breathe in and out doing his best to compose himself.

"We're done here. We are no longer friends; we are no longer anything. I never want to see your face again Makoto. This project is over when we get back, I'm shutting it down."

"Byakuya, please calm down. I know this is difficult for you, but you must be able to understand our reasoning." Kirigiri slowly approached him with Naegi. It looked as if they were trying to calm down a feral animal.

Togami was still shaking as he adjusted the glasses on his face. He tried to push up the bridge of the nose but because of his uncontrollable shaking the lenses ended up being pushed too far to one side making them crocked. He didn't seem to notice though as he started retorting.

"Screw your idiotic reasoning. Toko's dead and you hid the killer's identity from me. That is something I cannot forgive." He glared at Kirigiri and Naegi with anger. Not an ounce of cockiness or bravado was left, just unbridled rage.

He marched forward shoving passed them both and stopped in front of the still bowed down Imposter.

"You… I'm going to!" It looked as if he was about to start kicking him when suddenly Sonia stepped forward putting herself between Togami and Imposter.

"It was me Togami. I ordered him to kill Toko. If you are going to threaten anyone, please direct them towards me." She stood up straight with a determined, unflinching gaze, she was not going to let Togami hurt him.

Togami stood there shocked for a moment trying to process this new information. "Y-you…" His bewildered daze was suddenly replaced with gritted teeth and an enraged scowl.

Togami walked towards the exit, stopping in the doorway and resting his hand on the doorframe, turning half his body around to face them.

"I've fulfilled my promise to you Naegi. I helped you capture Class 77 and put them in the simulation, but that's where my cooperation ends. From here on out I have a different promise I must fulfil."

Togami turned around and stared down Sonia.

"That promise was to make Toko's killer pay for their crimes."

Togami and had entirely composed himself now, the shock of betrayal losing to his new found determination. He repositioned his glasses correctly and pointed towards Sonia with lavish gusto.

"Listen to me very closely princess. You and your class have done unspeakable horrors and are responsible for such inhumane acts that I believe as your friend eloquently put it 'Satan's spawn' would not do your atrocities justice. You are the worst of the worst and don't think for a second that because you fell prey to Junko Enoshima's mind control, you are justified. No matter how innocent you believe yourselves to be in all this at the end of the day, I personally witnessed the genocidal massacre of Europe that you ordered, Princess. Thousands, if not millions have been affected by your actions."

Sonia's composure was starting to break, she was beginning to lose it.

"You don't deserve forgiveness. You deserve nothing but endless pain and anguish for the things that you've done. I promise you! You will be brought to justice for the suffering that you've caused. All of you will!"

Togami's signature shit-eating grin was re-attached to his face. "And I hope that those hideous deformities on your legs are a reminder of that."

And with that Togami left, shouting as he walked down the stairs "I will be waiting on the ship!" The room fell silent after Togami's outburst, everyone stood there in disbelief of the cruel things he said. Eventually, Sonia's soft sobbing broke the silence as she collapsed to the floor starting to cry. Hajime raced over to comfort her, but before he could, Kirigiri was dragging her out into the hallway. She called out "we will be back in a second," before slamming the door behind her leaving Hajime, Fuyuhiko, Naegi and Imposter in uncomfortable silence.

* * *

**Sonia & Kyoko**

Sonia didn't want to walk, she wanted to collapse on the ground and cry, but she couldn't. Kyoko was pulling her down the hallway and eventually yanked her through a doorway.

She was in a large room with four different beds against the walls. Two on each side, with a bedside table next to each. A dark grey carpet comforted her bare-feet, being warmed from the sunshine coming through a large bay window at the opposite end of the room. Small throw pillows were neatly placed against the bay window's glass, so someone could sit or lie there and look out over the ocean and the sky. Sonia couldn't believe such a beautiful cozy room was tucked away in the middle of a lab.

Kyoko dragged Sonia to the bay window and got her to sit down next to her. The moment she did Kyoko grabbed both of Sonia's hands in hers.

"Don't listen to that jerk, okay?"

Finally, being still Sonia felt the tears starting to re-emerge. She tried to get her hands out of Kyoko's grasp, but she refused to let go. She yanked at them harder trying to get her hands free so she could hide her face.

"Kyoko! Please… let go…." Sonia whimpered, choking on each word.

"Sonia…" Kyoko grabbed onto Sonia's hands tighter. "Can I please show you something?"

Sonia desperate struggles to get her hands free were interrupted from Kyoko's sudden question, she stopped tugging at her hands and wondered what she was talking about.

"What?" Sonia's voice cracked.

Kyoko carefully let Sonia's hands go and took a deep breath in. She removed her gloves, starting with the left side and then the right. Sonia's onslaught of emotions came to a halt as she saw what Kyoko was hiding. Scarred and burned hands, just as bad if not worse than the burns on Sonia's legs.

Kyoko timidly held out her left-hand inviting Sonia to hold it. Sonia, after wiping away the worst of her tears just as timidly accepted and carefully held Kyoko's hand in hers. Sonia's face darkened feeling the burnt flesh between her fingers.

"Did… did… one of us?" Sonia felt new tears beginning to form.

"No… I got these a long time ago."

Sonia feeling a massive rush of relief did her best to compose herself. "Why are you showing me this?"

Kyoko removed her hands from Sonia's grasp and neatly placed them on her lap.

"They bother you don't they… the burns on your legs."

Sonia turned away slightly, feeling a tinge of guilt. "Yes."

"I saw that look on your face when Togami commented on them… I know that look… I used to see it in the mirror every single morning."

Kyoko looked out the bay window. A vast ocean was staring back as far as the eye can see. Seagulls flying in the sky and trees below shifting in the ocean breeze.

"I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did."

Kyoko took a deep breath in and began to tell a story.

"I find it uncomfortable wearing gloves at night, so I always take them off before I go to bed. Which meant every morning I woke up and was reminded of how I was… different. I would always blame myself for what happened, that things didn't have to be this way. If only I did something different… I fell into a depression, isolating myself from the ones I love. It felt like no one understood how I was feeling, everyone treated me like I was made of glass. Everyone was a constant reminder of something I wanted to forget. So, I let them go… I learnt independence and never made any kind of meaningful relationships for most of my life. I didn't want to tell anyone about what happened to me, but by keeping it a secret, I felt like I was constantly lying to anyone I met. I felt constant guilt and shame."

Sonia's face was full of nothing but sadness and sympathy. She could relate to a lot of what Kyoko went through. "What did you do?"

"It took years of slowly rebuilding myself, but eventually… you realise you're so much more than your scars."

"What?" Sonia didn't understand.

"Sonia… I don't want you to spiral out of control as I did. You all need each other more than ever right now, so you can't afford to distance yourself from the others…"

Kyoko stopped looking out the window and looked Sonia in the eyes. Sonia tried avoiding her gaze, but Kyoko repositioned herself, so she was looking back at her.

"You are Sonia Nevermind. You are not your scars. You are not your trauma. You are a wonderful person who deserves love and is beautiful in so many ways."

"No…" Sonia didn't want to hear it.

"You feel like you are lesser now, that you could be more but you're not… That you are defined by the burns on your legs. It sounds preposterous saying it out loud, but it's the same thing I thought. That people would think less of me, but that's not the truth."

"You don't understand!" Sonia was yelled, "I… I… I used to like myself… I used to be able to think of myself as a good person. That I… I was good." Sonia's face darkened, glazed over eyes and a miserable stare took over her once passionate expression.

"He is right… I do not deserve forgiveness. I deserve everything that's happened to me.

**I am disgusting.**

**I am evil.**

**I am ugly. **

**I am a monster."**

Sonia suddenly felt a sharp pain on her left cheek. She looked back at Kyoko and realised she had her arm in the air. She just slapped her.

"What did I just say! You are not your burns! You are not the person you were while despair!"

Sonia caressed the side of her face. Her cheek was now a bright pinkish red.

"Don't you ever talk about yourself like that again!"

Kyoko got up and stood in front of Sonia, almost trapping her against the window.

"I never knew the Sonia that you speak of. I've only ever known this Sonia. The one sitting in front of me! If I thought you were the terrible person that you speak of, would I be here right now? Stop constantly thinking that you can be better and accept yourself for who you are!"

"I…"

"Sonia! It frustrates me to no end seeing you think the same way I did. Please… Please! Believe me when I say this…

You are Sonia Nevermind, you are an intelligent, caring person. Who is gorgeous and good.

I have never once thought of you like the person you believe that you are. I have never seen you as disgusting, evil, ugly or a monster! You are Sonia. I already know you're an incredible person and I know very little about you!"

Kyoko grabbed hold of Sonia and held her tight.

"Those burns, those years of despair. They are not you. They may be part of you now, but you are so so much more than that. Please believe me."

"I…" Sonia was beginning to cry again, "I don't know…"

"We all have scars; we all have things we regret. We all have trauma and baggage; unfortunately, you have much more than most. But please know that I don't think any less of you for it."

Kyoko let Sonia go and kneeled in front of her raising her left hand, displaying it next to her.

"You have seen my burns now Sonia. So, tell me: Am I still the Kyoko that you knew? Or am I someone else now that you know I have burned hands?"

Sonia's mind raced as it tried to make sense of what Kyoko was telling her. Eventually, she remembered something vital.

…

…

…

'How could I forget?

…

When I told Hajime the exact same thing.

…

Is Hajime a monster? No.

…

Is Kyoko any different now? No.

…

But if that is true…

…

Then what about me?'

Sonia thought back. Back to the night where she found Hajime on the hill next to his cabin, almost overtaken with despair. Where she was able to bring him back. What did he say to her? She finally remembered.

"_Sonia, you are truly an incredible person. I think you might be the most amazing person I've ever met. You're right, I've never seen you like anything even remotely resembling a monster."  
_

Tears were streaming down Sonia's face. She felt like such an idiot.

Sonia held both her arms out and slowly wrapped herself around Kyoko only managing to whisper a small "thank you," before she began to bawl her eyes out.

Kyoko returned the hug and stroked the back of her head, "oh sweetie…" Kyoko felt such relief knowing she finally got through to her. She couldn't help but tear up herself, which was very rare for her.

"I know it's hard. I know sometimes it feels like you are back at square one and you haven't made any progress at all, but I swear that you are. It's so easy to judge yourself and love others, but you have to remember that people love you too."

"Does it…" Sonia tried to speak in bated breathes between cries of anguish, "get easier?"

"It does, I promise it does. There will come a day, **a brighter future** full of hope, where your suffering will be a distant memory. Your trauma, your burns, they will all be in the past, and then you might find happiness."

"It's so hard Kyoko… every day seems to be harder than the last. Every day I suffer more, we suffer more!"

"I know Sonia." Kyoko had never been this animated with someone, so open and honest. While she may have been comforting Sonia, she was starting to feel that this interaction was having a positive effect on her as well, maybe it wasn't so bad being open with your emotions? "But you're strong, and you've got those idiots in the other room to help support you right?"

Sonia leaned back from Kyoko, her crying finally ceasing and smiled.

"I do." How could Sonia forget? She had so many people who cared for her. Hajime, Fuyuhiko, Imposter, Akane and Kazuichi. They had all helped her at one point or another, and she had helped them. The thought that such good friends were waiting for her in the other room was of such great comfort. But that's when she realised, one of her friends were already in the room with her.

"Thank you, Kyoko."

It felt as if Kyoko was now sober. She got so emotional with Sonia that she now felt incredibly embarrassed and stupid for it. She felt weird and exposed, she never gets that emotional with anyone, not even Makoto. It made her think, just how much of herself does she see in Sonia that she was able to open up like this?

"Ah… yes… well." Kyoko's entire face was red. "I got some therapy training alongside medical, for this very situation, it's all part of procedure." Kyoko coughed and stood up trying to play it as cool as possible. She looked at a clock on the far wall and realised the time.

"I really need to get going. I promise I'll do everything in my power to stop Byakuya from hurting you all. I just need you to make it through this storm, alright?"

Sonia took a deep breath in and out finally composing herself. She stood up and grabbed her bicep with her other hand proudly. "You can rely on me!"

"Good." Kyoko felt slightly better about leaving them now. After Fuyuhiko's speech and getting Sonia to feel better, she felt more confident about leaving them on their own. She started walking out of the room and stopped in the doorway. "I expect results when I get back. I want to see everyone awake and well. Can you do that?"

"Only if you promise one thing."

Kyoko was confused and curious about what she could possibly want. "What is it?"

"When you get back. When we reach that **brighter future** you speak of, I would very much like to spend time with you Kyoko!"

Kyoko got the biggest smile Sonia had ever seen on her.

"Sure, why not."

"Great!" Sonia clapped her hands together, and her eyes sparkled. "We shall have tea, and watch horror movies and murder documentaries and…."

Sonia kept going on and on with different activities, all sounding less appealing than the last. Kyoko realised she made a massive mistake agreeing to this but… if they really did reach that **brighter future**, then she figured she could handle it.

"I look forward to it." Kyoko lied through gritted teeth. She composed herself and smiled, "goodbye Sonia."

"Farewell, Kyoko. I look forward to seeing you again." Sonia bowed slightly, when she raised her head to look back Kyoko was gone.

Sonia took a moment to be by herself, she turned around looking out the bay window. Appreciating what a gorgeous view it was. She took the time to reflect on everything Kyoko had told her, she had to accept herself for who she is now. Stop dwelling on what could or could not have been and move on. She finally got up the courage and looked down, twisted pinkish flesh was contorting itself up the sides of each of her legs. It looked like some creature burrowed its way through her skin leaving trails of dead tissue as it went up to her thighs. She poked at it with a finger, certain parts she couldn't even feel anymore. The nerve endings had been destroyed. It was still so hard seeing herself like this, that it was real and happened. Even now it always felt unreal like at any point now she would look down, and her legs would be fine. But they never were.

She was starting to tear up again, she was trying her best to listen to Kyoko, but it was so hard. She looked away towards the window, wanting to escape reality for again. The sun was just starting to creep onto the outer edges of the window frame as the time got past midday. The light was refracting off the glass in just the right way, that now Sonia could easily see her reflection in the glass in front of her. She could no longer look out at the beautiful landscape outside without being reminded of her appearance.

Her one moment of respite from her self-hatred was now interrupted. She could no longer escape the reality of herself. She did her best to look outwards to the beautiful landscape outside but couldn't see past her reflection. She wanted to look out at the big blue ocean and beautiful blue sky and the blue… eyes…

'Blue eyes…'

She looked at her reflection closer. She realised her eyes. She had pretty eyes. She always liked them, and they hadn't changed after all this time. Still a light blue with hues of silver thrown throughout. She looked at the rest of her face. She looked tired, and even a little sickly but… she couldn't believe how much better she was already looking from the first time she woke up. Her face already had some more weight to it, and she wasn't looking so gauntly. The outlining of her cheekbones was less prominent, and her skin looked a little healthier. Even her hair started looking more alive. She…

She…

Liked it. She liked the way she was looking. Even knowing that her burnt legs were just out of the frame of her reflection. She still felt good.

If her old self were to see her now, she would probably be horrified but, it was such a significant improvement from before. She was getting better… and that thought was incredible to her.

She straightened out her posture slightly, neatly repositioned her hair behind her shoulders and smiled. She took a deep breathe in and out.

"I am Sonia Nevermind."

She felt a little embarrassed about it but saying that out loud actually helped.

"I am Sonia Nevermind!"

"I AM SONIA NEVERMIND!"

Some of her self-confidence was back. She felt ever so slightly like a princess again. She grabbed her bicep with one hand and smiled, taunting her reflection.

"I am Sonia Nevermind! Do not underestimate me!"

She felt a bit more like herself. She didn't need the constant threat of danger to keep her distracted now, she was finally comfortable with her own company again. She wasn't sure how long that would last, but for now, it felt incredible. Some real progress toward her recovery had been made.

"Ahhhh, Sonia? What-cha doing?"

Sonia jumped being startled by the sudden interruption. She turned around to find Hajime with an amused expression on his face. She panicked before realising that she had nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Did you not hear me Hajime!?"

"Erm, what?"

"I am Sonia Nevermind, and I should not be underestimated!"

Hajime squinted at Sonia wondering if she had finally lost it. Seeing her delighted expression though he knew that she was okay. He chuckled still perplexed.

"Do you want to get out of here? We need to tell Akane and Kazuichi about everything that's happened."

Sonia thought for a second and turned back around to the bay window. She could see out of the window again. The island really was beautiful, she was thankful she got to see such an incredible place.

She faced Hajime and smiled.

"Yes, let us vamoose!"

* * *

**Akane & Kazuichi**

Akane kept checking through the curtains seeing if the others were back yet. Each time she let out a frustrated sigh before sitting back down against the wall. It had been hours now, and it hadn't been easy for Akane and Kazuichi while they waited. Trying to fend off the dark thoughts was a stiff challenge, and it only got harder and harder as time passed. They did their best to comfort each other, but they could only do so much. After all, they were both facing a lot of the same issues.

"Hey, Akane."

She took a long time to reply, still distracted in her own thoughts. Eventually, she realised she hadn't responded, "yeah?"

"How will this end?"

"What do you mean?"

Kazuichi's usual relaxed attitude was nowhere to be seen. He was deep in thought with an exhausted expression on his face. "I mean like… I don't see us… getting back."

"Huh?" Akane shrugged with a tinge of annoyance at the vague explanation.

"Sorry, umm how do I put this?" Kazuichi took a moment to compose his thoughts, staring at his missing fingers in the progress. "Do you see us… having a happy ending. Like if everything goes right, and once it's all said and done. What then? We're just meant to what? Live our lives? I can't… I can't…" Kazuichi hid his face in his hands, Akane thought he might be starting to cry but wasn't sure. "**I can't even comprehend that**." His speech was muffled since he was covering his face, but she just managed to make out what he said.

"I don't know either… just take it one day at a time I guess." Akane barely believed what she said, merely repeating a cliché she heard.

A long silence followed, Akane was unsure of what to do. Clearly, Kazuichi was having a harder time than her at the moment, but she was barely holding onto to sanity herself. Suddenly Kazuichi screamed with frustration.

"Where the fuck are my fingers!?"

He pounded the headboard behind him with his fist and began lightly sobbing.

Akane got up and sat on the side of the bed next to Kazuichi. She took a deep breath in, she powered through her depression and managed to put on a brave face for Kazuichi.

"Hey, come on Kazuichi, it'll be alright!" Akane felt very disingenuous lying to him like that.

"I mean your fingers, don't really matter that much right?"

Kazuichi replied with an appalled look, "huh! They're my fingers! What are you talking about?!"

Akane really didn't know how to comfort him. Her family never really dealt with emotions like this, or at all really. Taking more of a casual approach, with a popular saying in her family being _'aye, it'll be right.'_ Just a simple acknowledgement of the issue before a dismissal of it. She wasn't sure if it would work in this situation, but she figured she would give it a shot.

She yanked both of Kazuichi's hands away from his face and carefully looked both of them over. One finger missing from his right hand, two from his left.

"Awww come on now Kazuichi, it's not that bad. You're right-handed, right? I bet you barely used your pinky!" Akane gave him a big smile, it made her feel sick deceiving him like this.

Kazuichi let out a big sigh and pulled his hands back from Akane's grasp hiding. He lay down on the bed and rolled onto his side, facing away from her.

"Yeah, I guess."

She wasn't sure if she helped or hampered him, but either way, he wasn't crying anymore, so it was good enough for her. She shrugged and got up before collapsing onto one of the make-shift beds. She was done dealing with reality for now and just wanted to sleep, it seems Kazuichi shared a similar sentiment as she could only hear his light breathing.

As Akane slowly drifted off to sleep, she thought of Nekomaru. Wondering if being despair would have changed him, if they could even get him awake, or if he had feelings for her. The thought that she might never get the chance to find out terrified her. Her throat began to get sore making her cough a few times, she felt the water from her eyes trickle over the bridge of her nose. She realised she must have been crying again, without even realising it. At this point, crying wasn't an activity, it was just a state of being. Just a thing that was part of their lives now, continually feeling so hurt, sad and confused that crying was becoming as natural as any daily activity. Akane did her best to block out the dark thoughts and eventually she fell asleep.

* * *

*Knock knock knock!*

Akane and Kazuichi were both startled awake at the sudden knock at the door.

"Hey, are we okay to come in?"

Akane recognised the voice, it was Hajime's. She leapt out of bed excited that they had finally returned she swung open the door to greet them when she found a similarly foreign and familiar face.

"Ah… Hi there. Akane."

Akane couldn't believe her eyes, he was here they did it. They did it!

"YOU DID IT!"

Akane leapt onto Imposter lifting him up into the air and spinning him around.

"Imp, you're alive!"

"AAAHHHHHHHH!" Imposter was screaming his lungs out, suddenly being flung around in the air. The speed and intensity of the spinning were starting to make him nauseous which made it all the worse.

Eventually, she dropped him back down and put him in a headlock. "Good to have you back!"

Kazuichi came outside with an awe-struck expression on his face. "Holy shit! Hajime! How did you even?" Kazuichi ran up to Imposter and grabbed him by the shoulders shaking him back and forth.

"YESSSSSSS!" Kazuichi screamed.

Imposter was really happy to have such a warm welcome but didn't except such an intense one, he did his best to endure hoping it would be over soon enough.

"Glad to see you're alright, man!" Kazuichi got a massive dumb grin on his face and offered Imp a fist-bump. Although he found it a bit odd, he gladly accepted, lightly bumping his knuckles against his.

Hajime and Fuyuhiko stifled laughter as they saw Sonia dejectedly look down at her fists, before letting out a long sigh. The three of them approached Imposter, Akane and Kazuichi re-joining as a group.

"You guys been alright?" Fuyuhiko inquired.

"Better now!" Akane wrapped her arms around Imposter, squeezing him tightly. His face started going a bright pink as he tapped on her arms to let him go. It seemed the onslaught of greetings wasn't over yet.

Kazuichi looked away from Imposter looking at Hajime, Fuyuhiko and Sonia. He realised Hajime had a bandage around his neck. He pointed at it with a shocked expression.

"W-what happened!"

Hajime gave a pained smiled rubbing his neck back and forth. "Yeah… we've got some explaining to do."


	8. Balancing Act

"So, is it decided?"

Everyone looked around the room making sure everyone was in agreement.

"Alright, congrats you guys!"

Hajime felt pretty damn embarrassed. It was a small role, but to be relied on like this was foreign to him. Hajime felt a squeeze around his left hand, he looked left to find Sonia warmly smiling at him. She lifted their hands and got them to bow.

"We shall lead you with humility and honour!" Sonia exclaimed.

Akane got a cheeky look on her face and smiled at Fuyuhiko, "any words from our protector?"

Fuyuhiko let out an annoyed huff, one part embarrassed the other part thinking this whole thing was stupid. "I'll try not to let you guys die… I guess."

Kazuichi chuckled, "I feel safer already."

…

After having a quick lunch, everyone had a big meeting in Hajime's cabin. Catching up Akane and Kazuichi on everything that happened: Imposter waking up and attacking them, Naegi, Kirigiri and Togami leaving, Togami's threats and the impending storm. By the end - one thing was abundantly clear.

They needed a plan.

After many arguments and compromises, it was eventually decided that they would delegate roles and have partial leaders going forward. It was agreed upon that Hajime and Sonia would oversee when and how to wake up the rest of the class. While Fuyuhiko was put in charge of defence; preparing for an attack and the oncoming storm.

"Alright, if you guys don't mind, I think we should get started straight away." Fuyuhiko ushered the group over to some paper and clipboards he had in front of him.

"We're on our own now, so it's completely up to us to make sure we come out okay on the other side. Years of being a Yakuza, followed by being a mass murdering Yakuza sucked but it did give me a lot of experience when it comes to this shit, speaking of which…" Fuyuhiko looked up to Sonia and nodded.

"I'm sure you have plenty of experience as well, so feel free to pitch in whenever you think necessary."

"Right." Sonia nodded with equal parts determination and melancholy.

"We need to get a survey of the land and whatever kind of equipment we have. So… Split up into groups of two, one group explore the island, check entry points, every building on the island, anything of note really.

Group two, Naegi told us about a storage building they have for food and supplies, check EVE-REY-THING, how much food and water we have, anything we can use for defence, do I have to spell it fucking out? You get the gist.

Group three is you and me Akane. We need to figure out the best way to defend the pod room. Under no circumstances can anyone make it in there.

So… any volunteers?"

Sonia shot her hand straight in the air before any could react, "I would love to explore the island, if I may."

Kazuichi shot his hand up too, "I'll go with Miss Sonia!"

Everyone but Sonia gave him sceptical looks, "you sure that's the best idea? You're still pretty fucked up." Fuyuhiko questioned.

"I've been stuck in this cabin all day! I want to go explore with Miss Sonia! Please!"

Fuyuhiko facepalmed and let out an exasperated sigh. "You okay with that Sonia?"

"Absolutely! Kazuichi and I will not leave a stone unturned!"

Everyone, especially Kazuichi was shocked by her agreement. They all imagined Kazuichi would be the last one she would want to spend time with.

"Argghhh, alright!" Akane growled, "but remember! You're exploring the island with Miss Sonia, not exploring Miss Sonia."

Kazuichi yelped. "He-Hey… I wouldn't dare do something so… so… lewd!"

Sonia gasped, "Oh my! Do you play for the other team Kazuichi!?"

"What no! I would love to explore your body, Miss Sonia! But I uhh… oh god, that's not what I meant!"

"Jesus Christ!" Fuyuhiko sighed, "look whatever, just get going. I'm sure Sonia could beat the shit out of you if she wanted to."

"Huh!? What, no! What kind of man do you think I am!? I would never hurt Miss Sonia, but if we were to fight, I would win, no doubt!"

Sonia gasped again, "Oh my! Do you wish to fight me Kazuichi!?"

Kazuichi at this point was speaking a panicked gibberish of 'Sorrys', 'Nos' and 'Miss Sonias.'

Fuyuhiko handed Sonia an A4 piece of paper attached to a clipboard and asked them to make a map while out there.

Sonia grabbed Kazuichi's hand and after waving goodbye, trotted off, keen to explore. "We will see you soon, my friends!"

"Meet back here!" Fuyuhiko yelled after them.

Fuyuhiko let out a long-tired sigh.

"Alright, that's the first group. So, who wants to check the storage building?"

"I'll do it." Hajime half raised his hand. "Want to go with me, Imposter?"

Imposter had been staring off into space for this entire conversation. Clearly, he was out of sorts. Hearing his name being said, he tuned into the conversation.

"Huh, what? Sorry."

"Do you want to come explore the warehouse with me?" Hajime warmly smiled.

"Oh, sure… whatever."

Everyone took a moment to realise just how confused and depressed Imposter must have been. He had only woken up a few hours ago, so it must not have been easy for him.

Fuyuhiko looked at Hajime carefully making sure he was thinking the same thing;

'you need to help him'.

Hajime nodded in confirmation; he had realised it as well.

"Alright, take this notepad and pen with you. Note down anything that might be useful, bring back any kind of makeshift weapons or supplies you think we may need."

"Right, will do!" Hajime grabbed the notepaper and pen before patting Imposter on the back. "Let's go, dude!"

Imposter began following Hajime without saying a word, which left Akane and Fuyuhiko alone.

"Alright, we got this shit. Let's go Akane!"

"Hell yeah!" Akane yelled, "let's make a fortress!"

"Yeah, no… more like let's make sure there is only one entry point."

Akane huffed, "ffffffiiiiinnnneeee."

* * *

**Hajime & Imposter**

They had heard from Naegi that the storage building was down the path from the lab, so Hajime hoped it wouldn't be too far. They started walking, with Imposter dragging his feet behind Hajime. He had seen this before, the initial excitement of being alive and awake slowly fading as despair claws its way back in.

Hajime took a deep breath in and out, it was time to help him. Right as Hajime went to start, Imposter beat him to the punch.

"I don't fit in with the others."

Hajime didn't expect social anxiety to be Imposter's go-to issue, but he figured if he brought it up, then it must be important to him. Hajime stopped for a second letting Imposter catch up so he could walk next to him.

"What do you mean?" Hajime inquired.

"I don't… I was never really part of the class, to begin with…" Imposter's face darkened. "I was always playing a character, I just… I'm sorry. It's tough to explain how I'm feeling."

Hajime got a tiny smile on his face realising just how much he related to that.

"I was never part of your class, to begin with, remember… I was in the reserve course."

Imposter dark gaze lightened to confused bewilderment. "Oh yeah… you're right huh?" Imposter let out a small chuckle, "I guess we're both outsiders here, then?"

"Yeah… but I mean at least you got to experience stuff with them… I wish I got to meet more of them in high school." Now Hajime was feeling sad but realised he was meant to be comforting Imposter, not the other way around. "Could you tell me what they were like in high school? Were they much different from the simulation?"

Imposter looked off into the distance thinking for a little while before speaking, "Everyone was about the same honestly… the person who changed dramatically I think was Chiaki." Hajime felt the breath rush out of his lungs. "She became a real social butterfly around the end there, it was nice." Imposter's face saddened, "I'm glad she was able to have some happy years at least."

Hajime had to keep composed. He couldn't be selfish right now and break. Hajime suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of distance between himself and Chiaki. He started wondering how well he knew her in the first place. The mental image he had of her in his head had now shifted dramatically, and it wasn't pleasant.

Imposter noticed Hajime's panic. "Hajime? You okay?"

"Ah, yeah… Just hard hearing about her sometimes…"

"Oh… sorry…" Imposter didn't even know Hajime and her were close. So, he didn't even think about bringing her up. He realised he would have to hear more about what happened in the killing game since he was only filled in on the significant events.

"Anyway…" Hajime dismissively waved his hands in front of him, desperately wanting to change topics, "you shouldn't feel like an outsider. We're friends after all!"

Imposter's face darkened again as he stopped walking and stood there with a glossed over gaze. "I don't have friends."

Hajime turned around with confusion, "huh?"

Imposter's attitude abruptly changed, a wave of anger now emanating from him. "Tell me Hajime, who exactly are you friends with?"

Hajime wasn't sure what to say now, "what do you mean?"

"Who?"

"Y-you?"

Imposter huffed, frustration evident, "and who exactly is you?"

"Ahhhh…" Hajime didn't know how to respond that.

"Exactly, so stop pretending. I'm an Imposter who plays characters who has friends, I don't have friends myself."

Hajime understood his dilemma now.

"You sure Mitarai would agree with that?"

Imposter's attitude abruptly changed again. He looked around his surroundings deep in thought before continuing to walk. Something Hajime said must have emanated within him.

"Who is that person, Hajime? The person who you think your friends with, the person that cares so much about Mitarai? Could you… could you tell me about him?"

Hajime had to choose his next words carefully, he's been in a similar predicament with Kamukura so he could relate.

"That question of who exactly you are still bothering you, right?"

They walked for a few moments before Imposter replied, "yeah… I don't know where to begin discerning an identities goals and ambitions from my own. I'm just constantly questioning whether I did something, or if the character I was playing did."

Hajime patted Imposter on the shoulder, "I think that's something you have to find out for yourself."

Imposter bit at his nails with anxiety, he wasn't even sure where to begin.

"Looks like we're here."

Imposter looked up; he hadn't been focused on his surrounding so suddenly seeing a massive structure in front of him came as a surprise. It was a metal building painted white with black trimmings on the outside, a triangle shaped roof which led to gutters on either side. A large sliding door that could fit a truck was directly in front, and a regular sized door was to the right. Seeing such an industrial looking building in the middle of this island felt a little strange but after thinking it through, made sense.

"Oh god, it better not be locked." Hajime walked over to the smaller door and turned the handle; it flew open without much effort. "Nice!"

Imposter gave Hajime a confused smile, "I'm surprised they kept it unlocked for us. Or maybe we just got **lucky**?"

Imposter noticed Hajime turn away from him and quickly rush inside when he said that, "yeah maybe… let's check it out."

Imposter shrugged off the weird reaction and followed him inside.

* * *

**Sonia & Kazuichi**

Sonia and Kazuichi exited out the front of the cabin area and ended up on a dusty sand path, grass and fauna on either side. They figured the island looped as it did in the simulation, so they decided to go left. An awkward tension hung in the air as they walked beside each other, silently.

They both had ulterior motives for wanting to go together. Sonia wanted to see if the feelings she had for him were anything remotely serious. While Kazuichi knew this was the best opportunity he was going to get. He and Sonia were finally alone.

He was going to ask Sonia out.

After a few minutes of awkward small talk, they came across the first destination – a barn.

"What the hell is a barn doing on an island!?" Kazuichi yelled with exasperation.

"Hmm," Sonia held on to the tip of her chin thinking. "Is it possible the Future Foundation eventually wants to raise cattle on this island?"

Kazuichi scratched at his head. "I mean yeah, that's not a bad idea… but look how old and run down this thing looks. I doubt it will survive the storm."

"True…" Sonia folded her arms, her eyes narrowed on the barn with an inquisitive expression on her face. Eventually, she threw both her arms in the air and shrugged, before smiling at Kazuichi. "I suppose it's a mystery!"

Kazuichi nodded at Sonia's comment but was distracted by drawing out the map. A little disappointed the conversation ended so abruptly Sonia decided now was an excellent opportunity to explore the barn while Kazuichi was busy.

Without saying a word, Sonia jogged forward and entered.

…

"Aaaaaaaaand there!" Kazuichi held the now partly drawn map in front of him proudly. "Look Miss Sonia I've got this part of the island done!" He turned to his left expecting her to be there and was surprised when she wasn't. With just a tinge of concern in his voice, he called out. "Miss Sonia! Where did you go?"

She was nowhere to be seen, Kazuichi deduced that the most likely place she went was into the barn, so he hurried along hoping to find her.

Once he entered, he found Sonia carefully balancing on a support beam that reached across the barn a few feet above him. She held her arms out keeping her balance as she slowly crossed it. She noticed him as he entered.

"Ah! Kazuichi, have you finished this section of the map?"

Kazuichi screamed, "MISS SONIA! PLEASE GET DOWN FROM THERE! YOU MIGHT HURT YOURSELF!"

Sonia turned her head facing Kazuichi and gave him a big smile. "I am fine Kazuichi, I used to do acrobatics when I was a child. It seems I still have good balance!" Sonia cheered.

Kazuichi barely listened though as he dropped the map on the ground and ran underneath her with his arms held out, ready to catch her at a moment's notice.

"Please get down princess! It's dangerous!" Kazuichi protested.

Sonia pouted a little annoyed at the lack of faith. She didn't want to scare him though, so she grabbed onto the beam with her hands and lowered her body carefully until she hung from it. She then let go ready to land, but before she could, Kazuichi dived below her, catching her in his arms.

He wasn't strong enough to hold her weight though collapsing onto the ground the moment he caught her. Due to Kazuichi's interference instead of landing on her feet as she planned, she fell on her side. An intense pain shot through her body as she realised, she hurt her broken ribs.

She rolled off Kazuichi clutching the side of her chest in intense pain.

Kazuichi stroked his lower back for a moment before realising Sonia was hurt. "AHH MISS SONIA! Are you okay!?"

Sonia ignored Kazuichi and breathed shallow breathes through gritted teeth, waiting for the pain to subside.

"Oh no! See, I told you this would happen! You need to be more careful Miss Sonia!" Kazuichi panicked over Sonia's hunched over body, unsure what to do.

"Kazuichi…" Sonia managed to utter. "Why would you try to catch me? I was fine!"

"You were up pretty high! And I uh, and I didn't know if you knew how to land properly! I just wanted to help!"

The pain was finally starting to disperse to the great relief of Sonia. She carefully felt around her broken ribs, and nothing seemed to have moved. She hoped they were okay. She sat up and gave Kazuichi a puzzled look.

"I told you I did acrobatics, did I not? Why would you think I am not capable of landing from such a small height?"

Kazuichi let out a relieved sigh, happy to see Sonia wasn't too badly hurt, he thought about her question for a moment scratching the side of his chin. "Oh well, I didn't think you would be able to. I mean why would a princess need to know how to jump and land, right?" Kazuichi let out a nervous chuckle but quickly realised Sonia wasn't impressed.

"I see…" Sonia rubbed the side of her arm and looked away, dejected.

A long silence followed as they both sat on the ground of the barn, unsure what to say to each other.

"Shall we go?" Sonia eventually spoke up, not wanting to endure the awkwardness anymore.

"Ah yes!" Kazuichi shot up and leaned down to help Sonia up. "Are you okay? Do you need to rest a bit longer?"

Sonia let out a frustrated sigh, "yes I am fine Kazuichi, I can stand on my own."

It seemed Kazuichi wouldn't take no for an answer as he helped her up. They dusted the map off from the ground and continued.

* * *

**Fuyuhiko & Akane**

They both headed out shortly after Hajime and Imposter, catching a glimpse of them as they headed towards the hotel. On the way, Fuyuhiko explained ideas he had for options of defence against various methods of attack that they might encounter. Akane noted just how enthused he seemed to be about this and was happy for him, having something to focus on must be nice. Akane realised that she should do the same – maybe it could help her as well.

They arrived in the lobby of the hotel before quickly going upstairs into the restaurant. The first thing they noticed was a foul odour of chicken. Then they saw a smashed bowl on the ground with soup surrounding it, making a small puddle.

"Oh, fuck me… One sec Akane, I should probably clean this up…"

Fuyuhiko stomped over to the kitchen in a huff before returning with paper towels. Mopping up the worst of the liquid and picking up pieces of the porcelain bowl.

Akane sat down on the edge of a table next to him, dangling her legs above the floor.

"You want to help?" Fuyuhiko huffed.

"Nope!" Akane replied cheerfully.

Fuyuhiko let out a small laugh and shook his head, "Yeah… that's fair."

Fuyuhiko continued to clean up the mess he made that morning while Akane watched with a taunting gaze. Jokingly mocking him.

"Hey, you missed a spot!" Akane shouted pointing at the mess on the floor.

Fuyuhiko turned to face her, squinting while licking the sides of his mouth and sarcastically replied "Oh yeah? Which part, all this shit right here? Or all this?"

They both started howling with laughter. Fuyuhiko liked that Akane was good at banter.

Eventually, after watching Fuyuhiko struggle for a while, Akane let out a long sigh, got on her hands and knees and began helping him clean.

"Oh hey, seriously you don't-"

"It's fine. I don't want to wait around forever." Akane smiled back and began mopping up the soup.

…

"Thanks." Fuyuhiko bashfully replied.

As they cleaned, Fuyuhiko couldn't help but notice the large tattoo covering Akane's chest. He just remembered why she had it and started feeling tremendous guilt.

"I'm really sorry about that." He pointed at the tattoo.

Akane didn't react for a few moments, still focused on cleaning.

"It's fine…"

Fuyuhiko took that dismissal as a cue to leave the subject alone. He continued cleaning but couldn't drop the topic, eventually, he knew he had to ask.

"I uh… I don't remember everything I did as despair that well… I know you joined my crew and I was wondering…"

He had no idea how he was meant to say this without being awkwardly direct.

"Was that tattoo the worst thing I did to you?"

Akane stopped cleaning for a moment, a little surprised at the question. She carefully picked up the broken pieces of porcelain scattered on the ground. Once she had a handful, she looked at the fragments atop her palm - considering his question.

"Do you really want to know? I don't think it will help anything if I tell you."

A massive rush of dread and anxiety rushed through Fuyuhiko. He really thought she would have replied 'yes'. His mind raced to try to think of anything, but it came out blank. With a weak and shaky voice, he replied; "please."

Akane got up and walked over to a bin nearby, tossing the broken pieces into it.

"You uh… tried to force yourself on me a couple times."

Fuyuhiko slammed the broken pieces of ceramic onto the ground and bashed the floor with his fists. "FUCK!" He covered his face with his hands and rocked back and forth a little. "Goddammit! I'm so sorry Akane! Shit!"

Akane continued to look at the broken pieces she threw away not wanting to face him. "You never got anywhere if it makes you feel any better…"

It did help, Fuyuhiko was freaking out a bit less. He was trying to justify that to himself.

'That's not toooooo bad, right? I mean I never got anywhere?'

He started thinking he might be able to live with himself, after all, that was until Akane spoke again.

"I would just tell you to go find Peko… and that's uh… what you did."

Fuyuhiko began violently shaking, the smell of rotting chicken and the absolute disgust he felt for himself led him to realise he was about to puke. He ran for the end of the restaurant and leaned over the railing. A vile sludge of bile splattered onto the bushes below. He stayed there realising that he was probably going to throw up again.

Akane didn't know how to comfort him, how could anyone deal with that? She leaned on the railing next to him and looked off into the ocean.

"You're just got to remember that you were brainwashed. That the disgust you have for yourself right now is proof, it wasn't you." Those words just rolled off Akane's tongue, she was surprised she was able to make such a good point.

Fuyuhiko was still pale and leaning over the ledge. It looked like he was about to recover before he spewed more bile below. Akane hated seeing him like this.

"Fuck it I'm just gonna say it… you're not a rapist Fuyuhiko. That wasn't you. If it were, I wouldn't be your friend."

Fuyuhiko was breathing heavily still leaning over the ledge, sweat dropping off his brow.

"I don't know if this will help, but I know for a fact you're not the only one out of us to do that kind of thing."

Fuyuhiko looked over at Akane, a look of absolute terror on his face, "W-what… W-who?"

Akane shook her head. Fuyuhiko realised it was probably better if he didn't know and slowly nodded. Fuyuhiko was panting, getting his breath back after vomiting he turned around and leaned against the railing, looking back towards the broken pieces of the bowl that still lay on the floor. Some had smashed into smaller pieces after his outburst.

"Akane…"

"Yeah?"

Fuyuhiko got back a small amount of his composure and started breathing normally again.

"If even for a second, one fucking minuscule of a chance that you think I might hurt Peko or any of you again…"

Fuyuhiko turned his whole body around and faced Akane.

"Kill me."

It was hard to phase Akane, but the sudden death request came as a huge surprise. A mix of emotions rushed through her.

She took a moment to look back over the ocean letting her thoughts and feelings wash over her. Eventually, she was able to make sense of them - she turned back around and hugged Fuyuhiko bringing him in close.

Neither of them was much for friendly hugs, so they both found it a unique experience.

"I promise… Because you're not that person anymore. I know you will never hurt her again, none of us are going to hurt each other."

Fuyuhiko huffed, "you sure?"

"Yeah, we're all kinds of fucked up. We've all done stuff that makes us sick to the stomach… I mean remember when I woke up. I threw up almost immediately."

"Oh yeah…" Fuyuhiko forgot about that.

"Come on dude, get it together. We're all here for each other, it'll be alright."

Fuyuhiko pushed himself off Akane and gave her a surprisingly warm smile.

"Thanks, Akane…" He looked back at the broken pieces of the bowl still on the ground. "I'll clean up the rest of the shit on the floor, can you uh… wait here? I want to be alone for a little bit."

Akane nodded with a thoughtful expression on her face, "sure."

"Thanks."

Fuyuhiko went back inside to clean up the rest of the mess, Akane stared off into the distance letting the ocean breeze cool her down. She leaned her upper body against the railing allowing it to support most of her weight.

* * *

**Sonia & Kazuichi**

After an awkward 20 minutes of small talk, they eventually arrived at their next destination. A large dock. Directly in front of them was a concrete pier that stretched out into the ocean for about 50 metres. Next to it was a small shaded area with a bench beneath it. Sonia led the charge as they raced for the shade, wanting to get out of the scorching hot sun. Sonia was starting to have second thoughts about exploring the whole island, forgetting how hot it is.

They both collapsed onto the wooden seat huffing.

"Alright let's see here…" Kazuichi scanned over his map, lightly tracing their surroundings. "This is down and a bit around from the barn, so…"

Sonia watched as he did his best to line up the paths together, and outer edges of the island. While she realised he wasn't entirely successful, she appreciated the amount of effort he was putting in.

"Okay… that should be it!" Kazuichi flipped around the half-completed map and held it up proudly with a giddy smile. She realised he doodled a little heart in one of the corners which she thought was adorable.

"Great work Kazuichi! I'm sure this will be handy to have going forward!" Sonia smiled.

Sonia enjoyed the ocean breeze. She hated being this sweaty and hot, Novoselic was a nice and cold place, so this was a significant departure from what she was used to. She looked out to the water with envy.

"The ocean is beautiful, don't you think?" Sonia warmly smiled at Kazuichi.

Kazuichi gulped before replying, "y-yeah totally! I like the ocean too! We have so much in common!"

They both sat there staring off into the distance for a little while.

…

Sonia couldn't resist the temptation any longer.

"Kazuichi, would you like to go swimming?"

"Oh, I ah… but we don't have any togs!" Kazuichi nervously chuckled.

"That does not matter! We can just go in our clothes! I'm sure they will dry in no time!" Sonia got up and started taking out her bow, readying herself to head down to the water's edge.

"Miss Sonia, you don't want to ruin your clothes! I mean what if you get into trouble and start drowning!? I'm not a super confident swimmer it might be best if we don't…"

Sonia unclipped the bow from her hair. She carefully removed it, making sure not to get any of her locks caught in the clip. The diamonds sparkled in the sunlight as it rested in her hand. It was gorgeous, probably her most prized possession but at that moment, she hated it more than anything. She closed her fist around the bow crushing it before slamming her fist against her thigh with frustration.

"Oh, M-Miss Sonia? What's wrong? I mean we can go swimming if you really want. I'm sure you're amazing at it…"

"It is fine… shall we move onto the next location?" Before Kazuichi could respond Sonia got up and continued on the path, clipping her bow back into her hair as she went.

* * *

**Fuyuhiko & Akane**

"Thanks for waiting…" Fuyuhiko leaned against the railing next to Akane with a heavy sigh. "And ah… thanks for everything else."

Akane smiled. "No problem… by the way, why did we come here in the first place? Why not go straight to the lab?"

"I wanted to check if they had really taken all the knives…"

"Oh, so did they?" Akane asked with a genuine curiosity which surprised Fuyuhiko.

'She's not great and putting two and two together.' Fuyuhiko thought.

"N-no… they're all gone. It seems they weren't lying."

"Dammit…" Akane hit the railing with the palm of her hand. "What are we going to do?"

Fuyuhiko scratched at the back of his head. "Ah… we'll figure something out."

They both let out long over exaggerated sighs.

"Come on let's head to the lab."

* * *

**Sonia & Kazuichi**

Kazuichi was a few paces behind her. He tried to call out to her and start a conversation, but she ignored him. Sonia was too frustrated to talk, she just wanted to be alone. She picked up the pace slightly hoping to reach their next destination faster.

After a small hill, they reached a plateau. A gorgeous meadow with deep green grass and flowers of various colours, it looked like something straight out of a tourism brochure. Sonia rushed forward delighted by her new surroundings, her previous sour mood had vanished entirely. She pranced and spun around, the wind gliding through her long hair. Eventually, she crashed onto the ground a little dizzy and giggled.

"Oh, w-wow Miss Sonia, this view is almost as pretty as you are!" Kazuichi shouted towards her.

Sonia let out a long sigh. This trip with Kazuichi had certainly not gone as planned, but it may be salvageable yet. She sat up and gestured him over. Once he arrived, she lay down back down and patted the grass next to her, wanting him to do the same. Once he had laid down, Sonia began to speak.

"I am sorry I got frustrated earlier."

"OH UH! No, no… it's not your fault Miss Sonia, I should have just went swimming with you! I can be selfish like that sometimes, I'm sorry…"

Kazuichi ran his words together, she could tell he was nervous.

"Kazuichi… may I ask you a question?"

"ANYTHING!" he replied in a heartbeat.

After a few sombre moments of reflection, Sonia finally got the courage to ask.

"Why do you treat me so different from everyone else?"

Kazuichi wasn't expecting such a difficult question. He got up all his courage, it was now or never.

"It's because you're amazing Miss Sonia, you're incredible! You're smart, funny not to mention smoking hot! I mean… uh… gorgeous and umm…"

"Kazuichi…"

"Oh, yeah?"

"I appreciate the flattery, but you have not answered my question…" Sonia didn't like being this direct, but she didn't know how else to say it. "Why do you treat me like a child?"

"I mean…" Kazuichi's nervous, loud and panicked voice softened. "You're a princess. I'm just some nobody mechanic."

"What?" Sonia was so confused.

"You're so much better than me in every way! I just…"

Sonia sat up and looked down at him. "I do not understand…"

Kazuichi sat up and grabbed both of her hands with his. His grip was tight and squeezed he knuckles together. "You're an incredible princess! Everything you do is perfect and amazing! I… I…

'Please don't say it…' That's all Sonia could think in her head.

I love you, Miss Sonia! With every fibre of my being, I love you! I could go on and on about how amazing you are for days!"

Sonia looked down at their hands together, she realised she was shaking. Was she scared? Nervous? Happy? She didn't know.

"Kazuichi…" Sonia said slowly and sombrely, she could have sworn she heard his heart sink. "What you described isn't me… Are you…"

Sonia found it challenging to put what she was feeling into words.

"Are you in love with me? Or the version of me that exists within your head?"

"Huh!? What no? You're everything I described Miss Sonia! You are perfect! You-"

"No, I am not!" Sonia yelled yanking her hands away. "I am not perfect! I have no idea where you got that notion that I am this… this… doll. Kazuichi…" Sonia looked away, not wanting to face him for this next part.

"I like you… just a little bit… I was hoping to see if the feelings I had for you were anything serious but…" Sonia slammed her fist onto the ground. "You keep treating me like I am nothing more than a princess! A doll! A precious vase that will crack at the slightest touch!"

"B..but you are!" Kazuichi pleaded.

Sonia stood up with her arms raised and turned around. Referencing their surroundings with her gestures. "Look around Kazuichi! I am not sure if you have noticed, but I have not been a real princess for a long time now!"

Kazuichi backed up a little, he seemed almost scared. "Miss Sonia… I've never seen you so angry..."

"SO!" Sonia yelled. "Am I not allowed to be?! I am not this perfect person you think I am. I don't want to be. I am Sonia Nevermind! I am far more than just my talent!"

Kazuichi stuttered on his words unsure how to answer.

"Should I only talk to you about machines! Should I ask if you want to drink oil in the mornings? Maybe see if you need a gear change?" Sonia was stomping around Kazuichi furious.

"Shall I treat you like a robot! Do you want that!?"

Sonia's rage subsided a little finally being able to put into words her frustrations.

"I just want to be treated like everyone else…" Sonia's anger was being replaced with sadness. "Every time I saw you interact with our other classmates, with the other girls… I…

I was so jealous of them… the way they were able to interact with you. So easily."

Sonia sat back down in front of Kazuichi. Pulling at the grass and letting it fly in a way in the wind.

"Was it my fault? Was I not clear enough? Do you… do you even like me? As a person? Or is it just because I am a princess? Is that really all you see in me… am I that awful?

…

…

If I were not a princess, **would you hate me?**"

Kazuichi sat there for a moment. He felt like this was the first time ever that he was seeing the real Sonia. Which meant… she was right. She was only a princess to him… he imagined only being treated like a mechanic, and it felt horrible. She had been dealing with this feeling the whole time.

"I'm so sorry Sonia… I just…" Kazuichi paused, unsure if he should continue.

"What? Please, I am begging you Kazuichi! Help me understand!"

"I do alright! Whenever I do as much as look at you, I feel unworthy. I'm ugly and stupid and…"

"You sound like Nagito…" Sonia interrupted.

That comment made his mind halt to a blank. Being compared to him felt awful.

"There is something very wrong with you Kazuichi… and I…" Sonia bit her bottom lip. "I would love to help you but, I don't think I can."

Sonia stood up and faced her entire body away. He could see her fists were clenched. He heard her sniff, was she crying?

"That version of me inside your head must be amazing… maybe she could help you. You seem to know her very well… you must be… excellent friends… I… I wish we could have been."

Sonia ran away.

Kazuichi tried to call out to her, but it was too late. It was over. They hadn't reached any kind of understanding. Kazuichi lay back down on the grass letting the wind blow over him.

He had never been more upset in his entire life. One of the few people he had left. A person who truly cared about him, he just drove her away, and now…

**He was alone.**

As Sonia ran down the path, she heard a scream of anguish and frustration. One of someone in tremendous pain… it hurt hearing that scream. What hurt even more, is knowing she couldn't help them. She ran faster, wanting to get away. She had just lost a dear friend. Someone who she thought she knew, someone she cared deeply for, and it had all been a lie. And now…

**She was alone.**

* * *

**Fuyuhiko & Akane**

Once they entered the lab, Fuyuhiko was immediately taking note of entrances.

"Okay, we want a funnel. Their numbers won't matter as much if they can't come at us all at once." Fuyuhiko gestured Akane to follow as he raced up the stairs.

He didn't care about the first floor, nor the second, the third floor was all that mattered. Fuyuhiko carefully scanned around the area. There was the pod room directly next to the stairwell, next to that a room with a bunch of beds and a bay window. Fuyuhiko was a little confused why that was in a lab but shrugged it off. Finally, there was one room left that Fuyuhiko hadn't been in and it was at the end of the hallway, furthest from the stairs.

A heavy metal door opened to a concreated room. A small window with bars over it near the ceiling on the other side. A single lightbulb dangling from the ceiling with its wires exposed. A desk was in the middle of the room with a stool concreated in place. Finally, the most crucial thing in the room.

A jail cell, with iron bars.

Inside the cell, there was a metallic bed with a small toilet next to it covered by a half wall. Chains for someone's hands and feet were attached to the bed, and another set was connected to the floor.

Something felt off about this room. He finally got the courage to enter once Akane had joined him.

"A jail cell?" Akane scratched her head. "What the hell is a jail cell doing in the…"

They both froze when they saw it. A streak of blood stained the floor inside the cell where the restraints were.

They both understood what it was now.

"It's an 'interrogation' room," Fuyuhiko emphasised interrogation sarcastically.

"Jesus Christ… were they going to..." Akane pointed at the cell.

"I don't know…"

They both fell silent at the realisation.

Fuyuhiko examined the desk closer. There were slight chips in the wood with dark brown stains around them. He traced his index finger over the chips before carefully smelling the same finger.

'Metallic.'

"Looks like the future foundation doesn't exactly follow the Geneva conventions…" Fuyuhiko muttered to himself.

"I thought these were the good guys!?" Akane yelled. "Why the fuck are they torturing people!"

Fuyuhiko sighed, "End of the world happened."

Fuyuhiko went to storm out of the room when he noticed a metal cupboard behind the opened door. A little scared of what he would find, he carefully opened it.

The cupboard reeked of the same metallic smell. A deep dark red rusted some of the shelving. Fuyuhiko took a mental note that they must not have cleaned their 'tools.'

The cupboard was empty apart from a small piece of folded paper on the middle shelf. Curious, Fuyuhiko opened it.

_Like the room?_

_I've used it a few times on your kind._

_I look forward to using it again._

"COCKY MOTHERFUCKING BITCH!" Fuyuhiko slammed his foot against the cupboard, he heard a rattle when he did.

His anger subsided – curiosity taking its place. They had left the island in a massive rush, at least according to Naegi so Fuyuhiko figured there was no way they didn't miss something.

He shook the cupboard again, he could hear a metallic object being bounced around. It was below him. He ducked down and looked around the base of the closet. That's when he saw it.

In the lining of the very bottom shelf was a handle for something. He carefully maneuvered it out, getting it unstuck. His eyes lit up at the find. An old fashioned cut throat razor with a pivot connecting the blade and handle. He noticed that the base of the handle was stained with the same dark red/brown of the desk and cupboard. He flipped it open to find it in good condition.

"Fucking idiots. Check it out Akane!" Fuyuhiko got up and showed her what he found.

"Oh, nice! You guys can shave now!" Akane smiled cheerfully.

Fuyuhiko hit his forehead with the palm of his hand with a surprising amount of power.

"We already have electric shavers in our rooms. Do you know what we could use this for?"

Akane stared at it with confusion for a few seconds before she let out a big "OH!" and clicked her tongue.

"Of course! We can use that to cut our hair!"

Fuyuhiko stood there with an unenthused expression on his face.

"I'm going to cut you if you don't stop messing with me."

Akane let out a loud laugh, "alright, alright! Good find dude!"

Fuyuhiko raised the razor into the air proudly.

"Let's get out of here, this place gives me the creeps…" Fuyuhiko started leaving with Akane close behind.

"Oh yeah, what did that note say?" Akane asked.

"Just some dumb bullshit."

* * *

**Kazuichi**

'What's wrong with me…

Why…

I mean seriously…

Obsessed?

No…

I don't even know if there's a word to describe how obsessed I am…

What's wrong with me…'

A dark thought reached Kazuichi's mind. One he tried to forget about; one he could not accept. Because if he did. What kind of person would that make him?

'I'm happy…

That was the first thought that occurred to me when I woke up…

Because I realised…

Now…

I had a _slightly_ better shot of hooking up with Miss Sonia…

The human population is near extinction…

And I'm happy about it…

Just because I might be able to fuck a princess…

…

…

**There is something seriously wrong with me.**'

* * *

**Hajime & Imposter**

'I think that's something you should find out for yourself…'

That question rattled around in Imposter's head as Hajime, and he took stock of what was in the warehouse. Massive shelving that could fit crates littered the concreated floor. Massive industrial lights were hanging from the ceiling with a glow of bright white oversaturating the environment. It reminded him of a supermarket… which made him hungry. Fortunately, he was still preoccupied with that damn question. Without thinking he wrote down what Hajime called out.

"20, 21, 22, 23, 24! That's 24 cans of beans… Great…" Hajime clapped with sarcastic enthusiasm. "Hope you like beans…"

"Hey, Hajime…" Imposter clipped the pen onto the clipboard and looked up to face him.

"What's up?"

"What did you mean when you said that's something, I should find out for myself?"

Hajime tapped his chin while looking at the cans of beans with scepticism.

"Have you thought about becoming your own person? Like coming up with your own identity. I guess…" Hajime shrugged.

"My own…" Imposter's mind raced with possibilities. He liked that idea; however, he didn't know where to begin. He couldn't research this person; he couldn't learn more about them… he just had to make it up.

"Where do I begin?" Imposter bit at his nails thinking.

"Hmmm… let me think…" Hajime turned the corner to the next shelf to be greeted by more beans.

'Are you kidding me?' Hajime let out an exasperated sigh.

"Are you Japanese?" Hajime asked looking through the shelving to Imposter. He shrugged in reply.

"Really… you don't know?"

"Yeah… I don't have any information on my birth… my earliest memory was in Japan if that's something?"

Hajime squinted at him, trying to give his best guess, "you feel Japanese?"

"Y…Yes?"

They both stood there thinking for a little while, wondering.

"Screw it, let's go with that." Imposter shrugged, "what's next?"

"Gender?"

"Um" Imposter bit at his nails again. He noticed this time and took a mental note to try and stop the habit. He smiled to himself that biting his nails was a trait that he had, not one of his persona's - which made him happy. "What do you think?"

Hajime chuckled to himself, "I don't think that's a question you should be asking me!"

"I guess, you're right…" Imposter rubbed his shoulder thinking.

"I mean a lot of people base it off their sex if that helps."

Now Imposter was the one chuckling to himself, "yeah I don't think that will help me!"

Hajime gave him a puzzled look.

"I'm a hermaphrodite."

"OH!" Hajime shouted and palmed his forehead. "Well pick one, I guess. If you want…"

Imposter squinted looking into a ceiling light until it started hurting his eyes.

"G-guy…"

"Guy?"

"Guy."

"Alright, that makes it easy," Hajime shrugged.

"What's next?"

"Name? Be kind of weird if we keep calling you Imposter…"

Imposter grabbed onto the sides of his head. "Oh shit… this is going to take me forever… how am I meant to pick a name!?"

Hajime came back around the shelving and patted him on the shoulder with a sombre expression while slightly nodding.

"Don't worry Imp, it's going to take forever to get through everything in this warehouse." Hajime shot him a cheeky smile before tapping on the clipboard, indicating for him to get back to work.

Imposter laughed out loud, "I guess you're right!"

* * *

**Fuyuhiko & Akane**

They both kneeled over with their hands on their knees, out of breath.

"That's the last one…" Akane panted.

"Thank Christ," Fuyuhiko replied.

They had moved the shelving from the interrogation into the pod room. Using that and the cupboard with the wire cutters they covered up the outside windows, so no one could see or throw anything in.

The dark green glow of the pods illuminated the room with only small glimmers of sunlight managing to make it through the combination of cupboards and curtains blocking its path.

"That all we doing?" Akane asked.

Fuyuhiko thought for a moment considering her question.

"Yeah… for now at least."

Having regained his breathe Fuyuhiko looked around the room. Having the cupboards covering the windows and a razor in his pocket made him feel a lot safer. He walked over to Peko's pod and rested the palms of his hands on it.

"I promise…" Fuyuhiko whispered under his breath hoping Akane couldn't hear him. "I'll keep you safe… no matter what."

Akane sat down against the wall near the door. She noticed Fuyuhiko resting against Peko's pod.

"What are you going to do when she wakes up?"

Fuyuhiko looked at Peko's unconscious face considering Akane's question. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was sometimes. Even like this, after years of despair, stress and misery. Even while unconscious in a pool of goo, Fuyuhiko thought she looked gorgeous.

He started tearing up just a little bit but quickly wiped the tears away. One thing Fuyuhiko wanted more than anything was one more shot. One more chance to do right, to treat Peko right. Make sure she knows just how much he cares for her.

He took the razor out of his pocket and traced his finger over the dull edge of the blade. There was no way anyone was going to stop him from doing that.

His goals and ambitions were clear. There was only one path forward.

"I'm going to do everything I need to do."

Akane looked at him a little confused.

"I'm going to apologise. Then I'm going to apologise some more, and then some more. I'm going to keep apologising until I have to apologise for apologising too much. Then…

I'm going to make sure she lives the happiest life ever. She is going to be so grateful that she made it this far. Every single night she will fall asleep looking forward to waking up the next day.

I don't know if she will forgive me… I don't know if she should. But whether I'm in her life or not. She's going to happy. She has too."

Akane sat there a little awestruck. She knew he cared about her, but that was intense. She wasn't sure what to do with so many emotions.

"Hey, Peko…" Akane called out, Fuyuhiko looked over to Akane confused.

"I think Fuyuhiko _likes_ you!" Akane jeered.

"Oh, shut up!" Fuyuhiko shouted with rosy cheeks. "Let's get out of here. The others will probably be back soon."

Akane stood up with a heave and smiled. "Whatever you say, lover boy!"

Fuyuhiko cringed and rubbed his eyes with his hand. "Oh god, not another nickname."

* * *

**Sonia**

Sonia felt terrible. Could she have done better? Did she overreact? These questions kept circling around in her head as she continued down the path towards the next destination. That was until she heard…

"SONIA!"

She turned around to find Kazuichi sprinting toward her. Scared… Sonia started running away from him.

"Please wait, Sonia!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sonia cried.

Kazuichi was gaining on her; eventually, she realised there was no point. She stopped running and let him catch up.

"What do you want?" Sonia was on the brink of tears again.

"Please... I've… I've…" Kazuichi was puffing between every breathe. "I've been thinking and your right. There is something wrong with me…"

Sonia looked away not wanting to look him in the eyes.

"I can't help you Kazuichi…"

"I know! I know! Ju-just uh please listen, I know how to answer your question now."

"W-what?" Sona looked at him confused; he was now kneeling on the sand path.

"You asked me why I treat you differently from the others…" Kazuichi gulped. His friendship with Sonia would be over if he didn't fix things now, and that was a hell he couldn't bear to imagine.

"I'm a shallow person."

"What?"

"Sonia I'm done lying to you. You don't deserve all the shit I've put you through, so I'm going to be completely transparent."

Sonia was still scared; he was so intense, but she was willing to listen.

"Ever since I was a kid, I imagined dating a beautiful blonde princess. Then you come along, and you're exactly that, so…

You're right… I just liked you for superficial reasons. I… I treated you how I imagined you to be. That you were a princess and nothing more. I would actively try to ignore some of your quirks like your love for the occult and stuff… because that didn't fit my mental image of you."

Kazuichi bowed his entire body over and put his forehead on the ground.

"I'm… I'm so so sorry Sonia! I was a horny, sexist asshole who just wanted to date a hot blonde princess. But… as I've gotten to know you… You are so so much more than that. I'm sorry for not seeing that sooner. I know I don't deserve it… but please can we start again. I… I need to reset my toxic mentality and get to know the real you.

I don't love you, Sonia. I love an imaginary girl I thought up, she never existed in the first place… and I'm sorry I pinned it on you."

Kazuichi, teary-eyed, continued to press his forehead on the ground hoping for a reply. He waited and waited and eventually one came.

"Hi…"

Kazuichi looked up a little confused. Sonia was leaning down and holding her hand out for a handshake.

"I'm Sonia Nevermind! It's nice to meet you!" Sonia desperately fought off the tears. As she smiled wide, so happy to meet the real Kazuichi.

He timidly kneeled and grabbed onto Sonia's hand. "I'm… I'm… Kazuichi Soda… It's nice to meet you too."

She helped him up off the ground and smiled. "I'm really proud of you Kazuichi…"

"Aww…" Kazuichi looked towards the ground and scratched the back of his neck still a little nervous. "Thanks, Miss Sonia."

Sonia skipped a couple steps forward with her hands behind her back, she leaned over to meet his downcast gaze. "Call me Sonia!"

"Oh!" Kazuichi nodded. "Right! Will do… Sonia!"

Sonia smiled back, she was so happy they could work things out and hopefully they could have an even better friendship going forward. She saw that he was still holding the map and snatched it out of his hand.

"H-hey! What are you doing?" Kazuichi protested.

"One second!" Sonia replied with a cheeky grin.

Kazuichi saw her flourish the pen and start writing. After a few moments, she was done and turned the map around for him to see. Up in the top left corner, she added '_Soda's and Sonia's Incredible Map_!' with a smiley face below it.

"We shall make the best map ever!" Sonia exclaimed.

Kazuichi's face lit up, "oh yeah! Let's do it!"

They continued down the path together adding various bits of flair to the otherwise bland map as they went.

* * *

**Hajime & Imposter**

"What about Haruto?"

"Hmmm, na sounds too much like Naruto."

"Okay… what about Yuuta?"

"Eh… just not feeling it."

"Dude…"

"Yeah?"

"We've been at this for like 30 minutes, I'm done."

"Oh, come on! We're close. I can feel it!" Imposter protested.

Hajime let out a long-annoyed sigh. "Okay what about…" Before he could finish that thought, he found something…

"Holy shit…"

"W-what?" Imposter was a few steps behind, so he raced forward as fast as he could to see what Hajime discovered. "Oh no…"

* * *

**Sonia & Kazuichi**

After a pleasant walk of fiddling with the map, they had arrived at their next destination. A massive metal building, which they quickly realised to be the storage warehouse. They heard Hajime and Imposter talking inside which confirmed it. Sonia called out as they entered.

"Hajime! Imposter! Are you here!"

"Sonia! Get here quick!" Hajime shouted.

Kazuichi and Sonia looked at each other, exchanging looks of fear and panic. They both raced toward the sound of Hajime's voice hoping that everything was okay.

They raced around the corner to find Hajime holding up a bunch of different video game and DVD cases. "WE HIT THE JACKPOT!" Hajime yelled.

Kazuichi sighed and facepalmed. "Jeez, Hajime we thought-" His speech was interrupted with Sonia diving forward with glee to check all the DVD's herself.

"Are you serious Sonia!" Kazuichi cried but to deaf ears as they both ignored him.

Imposter came up behind Kazuichi and patted him on the shoulder. "Yeah, I don't think we're getting back those two for a while. Mind helping me listing off the last of the stuff?"

"Oh man…" Kazuichi reluctantly took a piece of paper off Imposter and attached it to his clipboard. "Let's just get this done."

* * *

"Hajime! Hajime! They have 'Halloween'!"

Sonia and Hajime were both flipping through various movies, tv shows and video games looking for anything they liked and piling it next to them.

"Nice! Look they have 'The Breakfast Club!'" Hajime replied.

"There are multiple 'The Purge' films here!" Sonia yelled.

"OH! They've got 'Shrek'!

"They have 'Friday the 13th!'" Sonia cried hugging the case.

"Oh man, they've got and 'The Matrix'!" Hajime shouted in awe.

That peeked Sonia interest as she looked over to Hajime's pile of cases.

"Do they have the trilogy!?" Sonia grabbed onto Hajime's shoulders and rocked him back and forth.

Hajime struggled to read the surrounding covers but eventually found them. "YES, THEY DO! Oh, and you're going to love this!" Hajime pulled out the second and third films in the series and then a fourth cover for a movie nearby. He handed it to Sonia with bated breath.

Sonia's eyes lit up when she saw it. She hugged onto Hajime and bounced up and down "THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE! This is one of my favourites!"

"I thought you would enjoy it!" Hajime chuckled.

* * *

20 minutes later Kazuichi and Imposter were finished and meet back up with Sonia and Hajime who were both necks deep in cases. They didn't even notice them arrive as they continued to sort through their piles.

Kazuichi and Imposter looked at each other thoroughly unimpressed with their companions. They both threw a backpack in their direction.

"We're leaving, you nerds." Kazuichi jeered.

Sonia was surprised. She was just insulted by Kazuichi, which he had never done before. She smiled at him impressed that already she was seeing a change in the dynamic of their friendship.

"We shall catch up with you later!" Sonia replied going back to sorting through her pile.

"NO!" Imposter stamped his foot. "You two are leaving with us, NOW!"

"AWW…" Hajime and Sonia both cried in anguish. They both started shovelling DVDs and games into the backpacks they were given.

Imposter yelled "HEY!" Both Hajime and Sonia looked up shocked. "Only one each… we need you to carry supplies!"

"ONLY ONE!"

"THAT IS SO UNFAIR!"

They both desperately started sorting through their piles.

…

A few minutes passed, and they had still not decided on what they wanted to bring with them. Kazuichi and Imposter looked at each other and nodded.

Kazuichi leaned forward and grabbed Hajime by the ankles, Imposter did the same to Sonia. They dragged them away kicking and screaming to a different section of the warehouse. They were both handed a list of things to grab, and after a few minutes, they finally headed out to the great dissatisfaction of Hajime and Sonia.

"Worry not Hajime, they shall be waiting for us when we return!" Sonia patted Hajime on the back doing her best to comfort him.

Hajime protruded his bottom lip and sighed, "I guess you're right…" He looked at Sonia with a faint smile and laughed, Sonia couldn't help but giggle also.

* * *

The group of four continued down the path. The sun was just starting to set as they arrived at the hotel. They met up with Akane and Fuyuhiko and headed back to Hajime's cabin.

"Alright! How did everyone go today?" Fuyuhiko was kind of excited to hear how they went.

Kazuichi and Sonia started. "We have made a full map of the island and explored it thoroughly!"

Kazuichi slammed their map onto the bed proudly.

**_Unfortunately, you can't upload images to this website. If you want to see the map itself you can find on 'The Days That Follow' by user 'Toffee_Pops_Are_Great' on AO3 (Archive of our Own) if you wish. But I wouldn't worry about it, you're not missing out on much!_**

Fuyuhiko stared at it with disbelief.

"What the fuck is this…" He grabbed the bridge of his nose and rubbed it.

"It's our map!" Kazuichi cheered.

Fuyuhiko took a deep breath in through his nostrils and then out his mouth trying to calm himself down.

"Akane hit them!" Fuyuhiko ordered pointing at the pair.

"You got it!" Akane replied.

"W-W-Wwai-"

Akane karate chopped the top of Kazuichi's and Sonia's heads.

"What's wrong with the map!?" Kazuichi cried out rubbing his head.

"Ow…" Sonia winced. More emotionally hurt that he didn't like the map than the physical pain.

"What's wrong with the map?! Are you kidding me right now?!" Fuyuhiko yelled. "Contour lines, distance, compass orientation! You're missing all of it! All you have are major landmarks!"

Sonia and Kazuichi both looked away not knowing what to say.

"Fuck it, it'll do! Hajime and Imposter, how did you guys go?"

Imposter handed him three lists. "Kazuichi helped us at the end because Hajime was looking at DVDs with Sonia. That's why there are three lists."

Fuyuhiko practically growled in Hajime and Sonia's direction. His mood quickly improved though as he looked over Imposter's list.

"Okay nice… you've got a lot of detail here. Good job!"

"Thanks. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any kind of tools or make-shift weapons. They must have taken it all. We couldn't even find tape; I'm guessing they knew we would think to use it."

Fuyuhiko sighed and nodded. "I figured."

He turned to the next one which happened to be Kazuichi's.

"So, what you helped them at the tail end of the day, Kazuichi?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Yeah just did a couple of shelves at the end to help them out," Kazuichi replied.

"Alright, thanks for taking on Hajime's responsibility!" Fuyuhiko glared at Hajime with daggers.

Fuyuhiko flipped over to the last list which was Hajime's.

…

…

"Hey, Hajime."

"Yes?'

"What the fuck is this?"

"My list presumably."

…

…

Fuyuhiko didn't ask Akane this time, winding back his arm and slapping Hajime across the face.

"AHH!" Hajime screamed.

"FUCKING BEANS! That's all you listed!" Fuyuhiko was seething with frustration.

"There was a lot of fucking beans! What do you want me to say!? Also, check the back of the list!"

Fuyuhiko flipped the paper over to find a list of movies and tv shows with a small synopsis for each one.

Fuyuhiko sat back on the bed, defeated. "I fucking hate you Hajime." Fuyuhiko sighed. "Why did Imposter who just woke up do better than you!? Like a hundred fucking times better!"

"Yuki."

"Huh?" Fuyuhiko looked over to Imposter confused.

"Yuki… I think I'll be called that from now on…"

Everyone sat back in awe at the sudden development.

"I'm still trying to figure out who I want to be but… I've got to start somewhere right? So, Hello everyone! Nice to meet you! I'm Yuki!"

Everyone continued to stare in awe. Until Fuyuhiko started yelling again.

"So, let me get this straight. Not only did Yuki keep a far more detailed and better list than you. While he was doing this, he also found the time to go through an emotional journey of finding himself! And all you could write about was fucking beans! Do I have that fucking right, Hajime!? Huh!?"

Hajime was like a deer in headlights just staring at Fuyuhiko not knowing what to say. Eventually, he looked up towards the ceiling and started non-conspicuously whistling.

"That's it! Outside, you gonna act like a child! I'm gonna treat you like a child! You're on time out!"

Hajime didn't argue he didn't want to piss him off anymore than he already had. "Aww man…" dragging his feet, Hajime left the cabin and sat outside.

Once Hajime left, Fuyuhiko continued.

"Alright as for what Akane and I did…"

He explained that they found a jail cell in the lab as well as a razor. He also discussed that they blocked off the windows, located the backup generator on the third floor and discussed a few strategies for a head-on attack of the lab. Once he was done, he invited Hajime back inside.

"You catch all of that Hajime…" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Yeah… razor is a pretty big find, and the jail cell might come in handy. You never know." Hajime commented re-joining the circle around the bed.

"Okay, the last thing is, Kazuichi."

"Huh!? Yeah?"

"We noticed that there is an alarm system in the lab with speakers around the cabin and hotel area. Akane and I tried turning it on, but we couldn't get it working. Would you be able to give it a look tomorrow?"

Kazuichi thought for a moment considering his request before replying. "Yeah, I can try… the only thing is we only have wire cutters in the way of tools. So, if it's something that needs fixing, we might be kind of screwed."

"Yeah, no problem. Just see what you can do." Fuyuhiko stopped leaning on the bed and stood up straight. "Alright, that's me done. What are we doing now?"

They all looked around at each other unsure of what to do next. Eventually, Hajime stood up and took the lead.

"Alright. Jokes aside, seriously. Thank you Fuyuhiko for organising us."

Fuyuhiko shrugged, "said I was going to keep you guys safe, didn't I?"

Hajime continued. "As for the next classmate to wake up…"

The mood instantly shifted when they Hajime brought up that topic. Hajime immediately got a bit nervous seeing their distressed faces. Sonia got up and stood next to Hajime for support.

"Hajime and I discussed it on our way back. We need to make sure we are all ready, physically and mentally. As I'm sure everyone in this room can attest, the act of waking up a classmate is not pleasant… for all those involved."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Most of all, mental stability and fortitude is our number one priority. That being said…" Sonia turned around to face Yuki.

"Yuki… the person we want to wake up next is your killer. Teruteru Hanamura. Are you okay with that?"

Yuki folded his arms a serious gaze overtaking his face.

"Thank you for checking with me Sonia. I have some questions for Teruteru but yes… I'll be okay."

Hajime rubbed Sonia on the shoulder, thanking her for her assistance.

"Well then, if Yuki is okay with it. Tomorrow. We'll wake him up tomorrow. No point in delaying it. Everyone else alright with that?"

Kazuichi, Fuyuhiko and Akane nodded.

"Alright…" Hajime let out a tired sigh and collapsed onto the edge of the bed. "Oh man, it's been a long day…"

"Heh. No kidding." Fuyuhiko replied.

"How is it still this hot when the sun is setting!" Akane complained pulling at her collar.

Everyone was in a hot, tired daze for a little bit until Sonia suddenly clapped her hands together.

"I know!"

Everyone looked at her curiously.

"Everyone is still extremely hot correct?"

No one needed to answer; it was apparent.

Sonia began to take the bow out of her hair and placed it on the bed.

"The last one in the water is a rotten egg!" Sonia exclaimed swinging open the cabin door and running down the hill towards the beach.

Everyone was confused for a second, processing what Sonia just said. All at the same time, everyone raced for the door, shoving and pushing each other trying to get to the front of the pack.

"NO WAY IN HELL ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO BEAT ME!" Akane screamed.

"BULLSHIT! You're going down!" Fuyuhiko yelled as the group of the began sprinting towards the water.

"I was once disguised as a pro sprinter. None of you are beating me!" Yuki shouted.

"Hajime Hinata the ultimate runner! That's what you should call me!"

With a massive splash, they all body slammed into the water's edge. In the end, no one knew who won, no one particularly cared as they began to all have fun together. The moment they entered Hajime and Fuyuhiko were looking to dunk each other. Akane started to swim laps around everyone, while Sonia and Kazuichi began a fierce war of splashing each other. Yuki floated on his back and relaxed letting the cold water wash over him, occasionally taking crossfire from Sonia and Kazuichi's battle.

The orange hue of the setting sun reflected off the water, as their day was finally coming to a close. Every single one of them had a hard day, but in the end came out stronger, better and happier on the other side. Moments like these are so few, and far between that, they enjoyed it immensely. They had all made connections with each other over the past few days, and they all felt closer than ever.

The future is a scary thing but, together, at that moment, it didn't feel quite as bad.

Yuki was finally relaxed. He still had questions, but he had finally gotten a grasp on his reality and himself. He finally had friends, friends with his own identity. Yuki. He was still trying to figure out who exactly Yuki is, but he wasn't too concerned at the moment. He was happy, and he wasn't going to take that for granted. Yuki stood up in the water looking at the setting sun in the distance, he couldn't believe how beautiful it was. That's when he realised, tomorrow was going to be a new day. His first real day as Yuki. A fresh start, free from the constraints of being an imposter. Free from despair. He was looking forward to it.

"Hey, Yuki! I need backup! Sonia is overwhelming me!" Kazuichi cried out as Sonia did a handstand underwater and kicked water up into his face.

Yuki giggled at the sight.

"Persevere Kazuichi! I am on my way!"

* * *

Authours Notes:

Hey hey everyone!

If you have read this far, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!

Knowing that some people have enjoyed the things that I have written means the world to me.

I absolutely love reading people's messages and reviews so please keep them coming! I promise I don't bite!

I really hope you stick with me as I continue to tell this story!

All the best, hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!


	9. Warmth

After swimming, they all piled into the cabin, exhausted. Hajime and Sonia, however, wanted everyone to watch a film before they went to bed. After many, many, MANY arguments between their limited options of 'Shrek' and 'The Breakfast Club'. It was eventually decided that they would watch the 'The Breakfast Club' as Fuyuhiko vehemently refused to, in his words; 'WATCH A FUCKING KIDS MOVIE!'

"_Don't you…_

_Forget about __**me**__…_

_Don't don't don't don't…"_

The ending theme played as the credits began to roll onto the screen. Akane was snoring halfway through the film, Kazuichi did his best to stay awake but eventually succumbed to his fatigue. Fuyuhiko started tearing up during the movie. He tried his absolute hardest to hide it, but everyone who was awake could tell. By the end of the film, only Hajime and Sonia were still watching.

Hajime stared at the illuminated laptop monitor in front of him in a tired daze, watching the credits slowly roll pass. He realized that he was able to immerse himself in the universe of the film, escape reality for a brief rest. Just like he had done so many times while growing up. Pretend he was anyone but himself for a little while. He needed that more than ever right now, but…

He could feel the tangled warmth of Sonia's head resting on his shoulder.

He felt a tinge of guilt in his chest. He could feel his entire body screaming to give up, to leave, to run, to hide, to get away from this depressing reality, but… a small part of him. A small and **warm** part was calling out from beyond the cacophony of hurt screams. That he couldn't leave, because for the first time in his entire life… he felt… real. No longer going through the motions of life, hoping that one day it would get better. No longer wishing to be someone else, no longer hoping for more because he had hit rock bottom. His family, friends, school and even his own identity were taken away from him.

The tinge of guilt stabbed him again.

He knew he should be depressed; he should be hating the world. Cursing it to damnation for how cruel and unfair it is but… that small part of him.

Had finally felt something, a real bond. A real relationship with people he cared for. For the first time in his entire life, he felt…

**Useful.**

He no longer wished to be someone else, he finally had a purpose. People who relied on him, and people he could depend on in return.

So as Hajime stared into the empty words on the fluorescent screen. A strange feeling of melancholic nostalgia washed over him. One that pleaded for this life back, one free of all these feelings, of all this pressure and hardships. The other, the same small part of him that kept stabbing him again and again - made him wonder. Wonder if he would really want to go back to the way things used to be… or… if going back was an **incomprehensible nightmare**.

A world where despair was nothing but a seven-letter word. A world with its problems, but a happy one. Except… it would be one without the gorgeous blonde resting her head on his shoulder. One without the Yakuza, or athlete, or mechanic or even the imposter. One where he would go back to being a nobody. One where he would return home after a long-unfulfilling day and desperately try to escape it through a video game, or tv show or a film.

As he stared into the iridescent void of the screen; Hajime was reminded of that world. A world which he feared more than anything. A life without purpose, a life without fulfilment, a life without meaning and most of all… **a life without them**.

These were the hardest days of his entire life. He had never been more injured, sad, angry, frustrated but beyond all that… a tiny part of him… apart which he could feel swell and stab into his chest. A pang of guilt. Guilt for being happy.

Sad – Happy

Angry – Laughter

Frustrated – Content

All these feeling were wrestling around in Hajime's heart. A contradiction. A war of two minds. And at the centre of this war – a question:

'**For the first time in my life, am I happy?'  
**

This ghastly question haunted him. He started hating himself again for feeling this way.

Happy.

'Only a sadistic masochist could feel happy in this situation!' Hajime concluded in his mind.

He didn't know what to do. This small part of him grew larger and larger. Absorbing him in its warped world view. He went to run, but when he did, he was reminded of the weight on his shoulder.

Sonia.

He felt his heart thump. It felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. This feeling of… of… happiness. A happiness that his reality was now shared with her. The guilt grew larger. He had to get away. He had to escape it. He carefully lowered Sonia's head onto a pillow next to him and stumbled out of the cabin.

He was alone – like it should be. A world where they were ultimate's and where he was no one. He looked up to galaxy, not in awe but in comfort. He felt so insignificant, so helpless and small looking into space. He collapsed onto the grass and began to cry.

The contradiction was tearing him apart.

He began to hate himself, hate that he was feeling this way.

His cries grew more frantic.

What was right, what was wrong? He just couldn't tell anymore.

"I wouldn't worry about it…"

'Oh no…' he forgot about **her**.

"You should feel whatever way you want to feel!"

He was happy in a reality where **she** wasn't in it…

"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry… I can't… I…"

"Why are you apologizing Hajime?" She sat down carefully next to him, tucking her knees into her chest and hugging them.

"I… I shouldn't feel this way… you…"

She cocked her head on an angle, a little confused.

"You aren't here with us… I shouldn't… I'm so sorry, Chiaki!"

She let out a small "oh" and nodded, realizing what he was going through now.

"Hey, Hajime… do you remember what I said before I died in the simulation?"

Hajime wiped tears from his eyes, desperately trying to stop crying.

"I said I would be cheering for you from now on, remember?!"

Hajime nodded still fighting off the tears.

"You've done such a great job so far! Keep going! I know you can do it!"

"But!" Hajime pleaded, "I shouldn't feel this way… I should… I should…"

"You've fought so hard… you deserve the happiness you feel Hajime."

Hajime stopped crying and stared at the ghost of his friend.

"After everything that's happened. I'm super glad you're all getting along so well… I know it's tough but… with your friends and your side, almost anything can be fun! I think…" Chiaki smiled.

"But…" Hajime couldn't get his head around it.

"I know you feel guilty… guilty that so many are dead – myself included…" Chiaki paused for a moment taking a deep breath in and out. "But isn't that even more reason to be happy?! Feel the happiness that so many missed out on."

"W-what?"

"Did you think I would want you to mope around for the rest of your life?! Come on, Hajime, if our positions were reversed, would you want me to be happy?"

"Of course!" Hajime yelled in reply without thinking.

Chiaki smiled with a slight cockiness.

"See! Please Hajime, the last thing I would want is for you to be sad. We made this future, remember? We all did, we all fought and suffered for it. So please, enjoy it! Make it something that was worth fighting for, okay?"

Hajime stared down at soft grass beneath him, sniffling. He could somehow feel her warm presence next to him – comforting him.

"Hey, Hajime… could you do me a favour?" Chiaki asked with her index finger pressed against her chin.

"W-what?" Hajime stammered.

"If you can't be happy for yourself… be happy for me instead! Okay?" Chiaki smiled with a warmth that made his heart melt.

Hajime looked up into space, into the infinite beyond and wondered, if somewhere out there the real Chiaki was watching over them.

"…

…

…

Okay.

For you."

He went to smile back, but like always. The moment he didn't need her, she would disappear.

He felt like his shackles were undone, and Chiaki had unlocked them. He felt a little better about feeling this warmth inside his heart.

"Hajime?" Suddenly, he heard the source of the warmth behind him.

He turned around and gave her a weak smile before turning back toward the stars. "Hey, Sonia."

"Hello, may I ask what you are doing out here?"

"Can't sleep…" Hajime shrugged.

"I see… I am having difficulty as well; may I join you?"

Hajime patted the grass next to him and smiled. Sonia strolled over and carefully sat down next to him, stretching her legs in front of her and crossing them.

"How are you feeling, Hajime?" Sonia asked, now laying down next to him and staring into the night sky.

"Better now that you're here." He smiled, proud of himself for being so smooth.

Sonia giggled, "I am happy to hear that."

They silently watched the stars together. They both had things they wanted to talk about, but neither knew where to start. Eventually, Sonia thought of a way to break the silence.

"Who were you talking to just now?"

Hajime felt his sinking feeling in his stomach. A massive swell of anxiety rushed through him.

"Oh, I ah…"

"And who were you talking to before in the cabin?"

"_Shit…"_ Hajime muttered under his breathe. He realized there was no point in denying it anymore, he had been found out.

"I ah…" Hajime covered his eyes. Unsure if he was going to cry, he didn't want Sonia to see. "I've been seeing her… Chiaki… it's um… I don't know." He felt like he was going to die admitting this out loud, suddenly he felt a squeeze around his forearm.

"It's just me Hajime… you know, I will never judge you." Sonia said that with such a sweet, caring tone that it made Hajime's heart skip. He felt a lot better talking about it now.

"I don't know why… She just appears when I'm upset. It's like… she's still here in some way."

"I see…" Sonia took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Thank you for telling me Hajime. I am glad that she is still looking out for us." Sonia warmly smiled in Hajime's direction.

She was so lovely about it, he now felt like an idiot for not telling her sooner.

"Thanks. You're always there for me, you have no idea how much I appreciate it." Hajime warmly smiled back.

Now Sonia was the one who was feeling a tad embarrassed. She was used to receiving praise from various people in her life, but when it came from Hajime, it felt like her heart might melt.

"Hey, Sonia?" Hajime suddenly spoke up with enthusiastic curiosity.

"Yes?"

"I've been wondering… how did you know that saying Mitarai's name would cause Yuki to come out of despair?"

Sonia froze at the question. Hajime had asked it so casually he clearly didn't understand the implications of such a difficult question. Sonia felt anxiety, anger and sadness rush through her… but at the same time, courage. Seeing Hajime admit something so personal gave her the courage to speak up about something she couldn't bear to think about only hours ago.

Sonia sat up, hugging her knees and hiding her face behind them. Noticing her anxiety, Hajime sat up too.

"Hajime…" Sonia whispered.

"Y-yeah?"

"The answer to that question is a difficult one…"

Hajime scooted a few paces over next to Sonia and wrapped his arm around her back, grabbing onto her shoulder. "Hey! Hey…" Hajime could feel Sonia shaking. "It's okay… you don't have to tell me. I didn't know it had a difficult answer! I'm sorry."

"No… I… I need to." Sonia uncovered her face from her knees. Tears just started to form in the corners of her eyes. Her hair was a tangled mess around the edges of her face.

She continued to face her knees, not wanting to look at Hajime while speaking. She took a few more moments to muster as much courage as she possibly could and began.

"I had an idea of how to free Yuki from despair because…" This was it after she told Hajime, this problem would no longer be private. Her trauma would be on display for him judge. "I once freed myself from despair, a long time ago…"

Hajime did his best not to gasp. He had never heard of that happening, he didn't even think it would be possible.

"H-how?"

"I… I was reminded of **her**… s-she brought me back… Nanami…"

Hajime didn't respond, his mind was racing with possibilities and theories of how this could happen. Eventually, he had one question that was begging to be answered, he looked down towards Sonia, but she was already looking up to him expectedly. It was clear what he was going to ask next.

"It was only for a very brief time though… I was **forced** back into despair shortly after freeing myself."

Hajime wasn't sure what to say. 'That's amazing!', 'I'm sorry…', 'what else happened?' he didn't know what would be appropriate.

After a long silence. Hajime finally whispered.

"_Forced_?"

Sonia was terrified that he was going to ask that, but… she wanted to be brave like him, so she knew she had to reply.

In a small, scared and soft voice Sonia muttered… "I was tortured…"

…

…

…

Without even thinking, Hajime wrapped his arms around her as hard as he could. A great sadness overwhelmed him. Not sympathy, but genuine sorrow that someone so close to him had to go through that. Hajime started to cry before Sonia did. She was incredibly brave and stoic up to this point, being able to conceal her emotions but hearing Hajime beginning to cry while he rested his head next to hers broke any kind of defences she put up. She hugged him back and began to cry too.

"I am so so sorry, Sonia!" Hajime was close to yelling. "Nothing like that should ever have happened to you. I'm so sorry."

They both held onto each other for a little while longer and cried.

…

They weren't sure how much time had passed, but eventually, they both ended up back on the ground lying down; looking up towards the stars.

"Thanks for telling me…" Hajime muttered.

Sonia nodded slightly but realized he probably didn't see her do that.

"I know… you probably have more questions but… I am still coming to terms with everything so… if it is alright…"

Hajime did want to know more. When did this happen? Where? And even… **how**? Although he wondered if he was messed up wanting to know such a detail. He knew it must have been difficult to talk about, so there was no way he was going to push her for any more information.

"You don't need to tell me anything more. Take your time… I'll be here if you ever want to talk about it."

Sonia smiled to herself with delight as she inched a little closer to where he was lying.

* * *

"Hey, Hajime?"

"Yeah?"

"What were your parents like? … if you don't mind me asking."

Sonia had wondered a lot about Hajime's past. She realized that she knew very little about him before high school.

Hajime let out a dissuasive sigh.

"They were there…" Hajime paused, but Sonia continued to listen expectedly, he realized that wouldn't be enough to satisfy her curiosity. "They fed me, clothed me, and put a roof over my head. More than can be said for some…" Hajime stated this with a cold detachment from his words like he was reading off the page of a book.

Sonia noticed this straight away.

"Why do you sound so dissatisfied? Did you not like your parents?"

"No… I don't think that's right…" Hajime layout both his hands next to him, with his palms pointing towards the sky. "It's more like they didn't like me…"

Sonia felt a rush of sympathy and sadness wash over her.

"I think they regretted having a kid…"

Sonia wasn't sure what to say, she had only ever knowing kindness and love from her parents. Even if her time with them was brief.

"I… I am sorry to hear that…"

Hajime shrugged. "I don't care. They didn't, so why should I? I lived a perfectly fine life, they provided what was necessary, and I guess at the end of the day, that's all that matters."

"I… I do not know if that is correct Hajime… love is an essential component for a family to have."

Hajime barely reacted to her response, it seemed he wasn't convinced. "Well, I suppose that's one thing they couldn't provide."

Sonia was starting to get a better idea of who Hajime was as a person. She had wondered if he had lived a rather ordinary life before their extra-ordinary ones started, but it seemed that was not the case. The pieces were beginning to connect, she was getting an idea of why he may have admired ultimate's so much.

"Sonia, can I ask you a question?"

Sonia realized she had been silent for a while now without realizing it.

"I have asked you a question. So, it is only fair that you may ask one in return." Sonia responded with glee.

Hajime could already feel his cheeks going red at the prospect of bringing up this topic, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep without finding out. "So… what happened between you and Kazuichi today… any ah… v-verdict?" Hajime gulped.

Suddenly Hajime felt a squeeze around his right hand. He looked down to realize Sonia was holding his hand. She caressed his thumb with hers as she replied. "Kazuichi and I are not right for each other… I think we have both realized that now…"

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that…" Hajime was lying through his teeth, he was overjoyed. His feelings for Sonia were growing more every day and as they held hands looking up to the stars-…

'Holding hands? Wait, we're holding hands!?'

Hajime was starting to panic. He wasn't sure exactly why. He realized his hands were starting to get sweaty, and his heart was thumping.

'Why am I nervous!? We hug each other all the time… so why am I so nervous!?'

Hajime went to pull his hand away, put Sonia squeezed harder. That's when Hajime realized why he was nervous.

Every time they had hugged, every time they had shown each other physical affection of any kind, it was to comfort each other. Usually an immediate reaction to something or to offer comfort but this was… **different**. They were holding hands for no other reason than they wanted to. Hajime looked toward Sonia to confirm his suspicion when he realized she was already looking at him, a slightly pinkish red colouring her cheeks.

Seeing Sonia like that, her face close with a pink tint to it. Eyes staring directly at him with a burning intensity without thinking, he squeezed her hand back.

Right when he did, Sonia's eyes opened wider, with an intoxicating smile adorning her face. She adjusted her fingers, so their hands interlocked. He could feel her soft fingers squeeze between his. Very slowly and carefully Sonia pulled herself closer, keeping eye contact the whole time. Hajime wasn't sure what was going on, all he knew was that he couldn't look away.

Very slowly, Sonia inched closer to him.

Eventually, she was kneeling above him, her entire body above his. One hand still interlocked with his, the other pressing against his chest. Her hair flowed down around her, some of her hair caressing his cheek. Dazzling blue and silver eyes, with the Milky Way as a backdrop. It was just like before, but somehow, she was even more gorgeous than last time.

They continued to stare at each other with a hypnotising intensity. He could feel the warm touch of her breath, just managing to skim his face. Her chest was nervously, raising up and down with each breath.

Sonia leaned in closer.

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear before resting her hand against Hajime's right shoulder.

Sonia leaned in closer still.

Their faces were almost touching, it was clear that at any point Hajime could tell her to stop, he had so many chances to do it but… he was hypnotized. Completely seduced by her.

Hajime gulped; his mind was racing but utterly blank at the same time. He knew what came next, and he was more nervous than he had ever been in his entire life.

'Do I… want this?'

He felt like he was forgetting something… someone? He wasn't sure, but all he could think about was the girl in front of him.

'Yes.'

He… liked her… he liked her a lot. That's all he could think about.

Their faces got closer still, they both turned their heads slightly, making sure their noses wouldn't bump each other.

Their faces were so close now he couldn't see her correctly, so… he closed his eyes, and so did she.

That's when Hajime felt it… his heart skipped a beat. Time stopped; reality disappeared for a brief moment as he felt Sonia's lips press against his.

**Warmth**, all he could feel was overwhelming **warmth** all over his body.

He could feel her moist breath exhaled through her nostrils as her lips pressed against his. He wasn't exactly sure how to kiss, so he did his best to imitate what he had seen in movies. He separated his lips slightly, letting Sonia's top lip insert itself into his mouth. He closed his lips around hers and… kissed her.

'I just kissed Sonia…'

That thought was bouncing around his head, like an excited child on a bouncy castle. Sonia backed up her head ever so slightly, but that wasn't enough. No, where near enough, he knew he had to kiss her again.

Hajime closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers. He squeezed their interlocked hands tightly before letting go. He braced himself against the grass and slowly sat up, carefully leading Sonia to lean back until they were both upright. Sonia repositioned herself onto Hajime's lap, slightly wrapping her legs around his torso.

They both took a moment, confirming that this was happening with one another. A burning passion of desire clearly visible as their fixated gaze landed on each other.

And after that brief moment of rest.

Nothing but lust remained.

Hajime wrapped his arm around Sonia and grabbed the back of her head. He interlocked his fingers in her blonde hair and brought her in closer, kissing her again. He felt Sonia's hand slide off his chest, over his shoulder and onto his back. While the palm of her other hand pressed up against his cheek while her fingers tugged and pulled at his hair.

She tasted sweet. Like bubble tea, or a strawberry milkshake. His mind was solely focused on how amazing it felt, how much he thought about doing this before and the reality that it was actually happening.

But most of all…

He couldn't get over how warm he felt. It was as if for the first time in his life he felt... heat. That for all this time he was frozen, and Sonia finally managed to warm him up.

Like the first rays of **sunshine** on a cold frosty morning, the long cold night was finally over. That's all Hajime could think about, his warmth, her warmth, his…

**Sunshine**.

She was his **sunshine**.

A ray of sunlight in this black void of absolute hell and misery… and it was pointed directly at him.

The kissing became more intense as they pawed at each other. Fast, forceful panting was the only thing heard between the sounds of their passion. Their heads were moving back and forth in a dance as they tried to subdue each other's lust.

Hajime could feel the press of Sonia's thighs against his waist tightening as their time together became more frantic. The warm touch of her hands against his neck, chest and face, the press of her chest against his as he felt her frenzied breaths.

It was as if they had been waiting years for this moment, the passion and intensity of their desire were erratic and excited. Both were experiencing their first time feeling this kind of craving for another person, let alone acting on it. What felt like mere seconds were actually minutes as they continued to be with each other.

Hajime was no longer thinking, just acting, enjoying, living in this incredibly intense moment. Eventually, his libido took over as without even thinking about it, his hands started moving lower down to the edges of his shirt. It felt natural like the next step in this frenzy of excitement. In one delayed movement, he slowly let go of Sonia's lips and pulled his shirt over his head. The brief moment of not being able to see her as his shirt covered his eyes feeling like a lifetime. Once removed he carelessly threw it on the ground around him, taking no notice of where it landed.

At the sight of Hajime's exposed chest, Sonia gaze focused in on his surprisingly toned chest and abs. A combination of malnourishment, positioning and small workout routines done with Akane were lending aid to Hajime's appearance. Sonia timidly laid her hand on his right peck muscle, slightly flinching at just how warm it felt. She wasn't sure if she had ever felt a man's chest before, so this was a completely new experience for her.

Delicately she ran her fingers down Hajime's chest lower to his abs, feeling the slight toning of muscles developing beneath the palm of her hand. Once she reached his belly button, she removed her hand, still staring at his exposed torso – wholly captivated.

Once her hypnotized trance ended, she focused on Hajime, staring intently into his eyes, her mouth slightly agape as she began to lift her singlet. In one smooth and fluent motion, she removed it, her white bra with blue stripes now being the only thing covering her chest. She half folded the singlet over her forearm and placed it on the ground next to her.

Seeing Hajime ogling at her nearly exposed breasts was embarrassing, so she looked away timidly hoping he wasn't judging her too harshly. It was an odd experience uncovering her body like this for someone to look at, in the throes of passion it felt right, but now she was feeling even more nervous than before.

She looked back toward Hajime to find him closing back on her lips with a warm smile on his face, suddenly it felt right again. She wrapped her arms under his armpits and held onto the top of his shoulders. She could feel Hajime's rough hands wrap around her lower waist, bringing her in closer. She felt safe with him. She had never once doubted him, or found her trust misplaced so exposing herself like this for him… felt… right. As much as she wanted it, the thought of being this intimate with a person had always frightened her. She now realized that she just hadn't found the right person... until now.

She didn't want to go any further than this just yet, but… this felt good. Moving onto a new level, but this was when those dark thoughts she was having before started remerging her mind. Realizing that she might not have the time to wait.

* * *

Hajime could now feel the fabric of Sonia's bra against his chest as he kissed her, the slight rubbing of the nylon against his chest was an odd yet tantalising sensation.

Once again, without thinking, his lips began to move on their own to the right side of her mouth, onto her cheek and then tenderly, he started kissing down her neck. Hajime heard Sonia moan slightly, which was promising encouragement that he was doing something right, he continued down as he reached her collar bone. This time instead of a moan, he heard Sonia whimper, which confused him, as it seemed inappropriate for the situation. He moved back his head and looked up to see tears starting to form in the corners of Sonia's eyes.

"OH MY GOD! I'm sorry! Am I doing something wrong!? Did I hurt you!?" Hajime panicked, unsure what to do.

Sonia panicked equally as much rubbing the tears away with her wrists.

"NO! NO! Oh no… I am sorry! You have not done anything wrong; I am just… oh no…" Sonia realized the tears were reforming, she didn't want the moment to end reaching her head forward, trying to kiss Hajime again, but he held her back by the shoulders and swayed his head away.

"Woah, Woah… hey… What's up?" Hajime uttered befuddled.

Sonia paused, taking a moment to realize her defeat, her hands collapsed into her lap.

"I… I am sorry. I have ruined this, haven't I…? I did not mean to." Sonia bit at her bottom lip, desperate to hold off the tears.

"Sonia…" Hajime took his thumb and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "You haven't ruined anything okay… please tell me why you're crying?"

"We…" Sonia rested her hands-on Hajime's chest and softly hit him with a closed fist. "We might not get this chance again…"

Hajime tilted his head and looked at Sonia with a bemused expression.

Sonia gritted her teeth before going into kiss Hajime again. This time Hajime wasn't having any of it, he pushed her off his lap and held both her hands in his.

"Sonia…"

Sonia glanced away, not wanting to look at him. Hajime grabbed onto her chin and got her to face him.

"What's going on… please tell me."

Sonia's face darkened, changing completely from her shy nervousness that was displayed before. Now an unflinching depression took over.

"We're going to die… if the storm doesn't kill us. Then someone else will."

Hajime could understand Sonia's concerns now.

"Is that we started… 'this'… out of nowhere? You were afraid we wouldn't get another chance?"

A tinge of guilt shot through Sonia, she nodded timidly.

Hajime paused, thinking through what she just communicated.

"So…, you wanted to spend time with me before we died?"

Sonia somehow managed to turn her head even further away from him, but he could tell even under the moonlight that she was going bright red.

Hajime paused, letting this euphoria wash over him. A huge goofy smile overtook Hajime's face before he started giggling.

Sonia now faced him utterly confused. "H-Hajime?"

Hajime started laughing uproariously, completely overwhelmed by her actions.

"Hajime!?" Sonia cried offendedly. Why was he laughing?

Hajime wiped a tear from his eye still trying to recover. "I'm sorry! I just can't believe you would think that!"

"W-what?"

Hajime stopped laughing and gazed into Sonia's eyes with a cosy smile on his face.

"Sonia."

His sudden seriousness was a little intimidating.

"Y-yes?" Sonia, timidly replied.

"I would never let anything happen to you."

Sonia stared back in awe. It was a baseless promise; in no way could he be sure he could follow through with it. But somehow… she believed it. He said it with such assurance and determination that it felt like she would be stupid for not trusting him.

"B-but…" Sonia paused, clutching onto his hands tightly. "How do you know? This… this will only end one way…"

Hajime looked up to the stars, once again the awe of the universe dawning over him. Sonia looked up as well for no other reason than because he was doing it.

"Remember the last time we were out here together, and you told me about the constellations?"

Sonia continued to listen.

"I really enjoyed that… I think… that was the first time when I realized I was starting to have feelings for you."

Sonia looked back down away from the stars facing him, bright red in the face. "W-what? Why are you telling me that now?"

"Hey Sonia, do you remember all the different stories you told me about? All the myths and legends involving the stars?"

"Y-yes…"

"In so many of those stories they face impossible odds yet still come out victorious. I remember listening to you tell me all about these different heroes of legends, and it was… comforting. Hearing about them being able to do those things it made me think, maybe we could as well."

Sonia looked down to feel Hajime's hands in hers. He was wholly composed; not shaking or nervous at all.

"Hey, Sonia… you ever look up into the sky and realize how vast the universe is?"

Sonia wasn't sure if he was asking a rhetorical question or not, deciding to continue to listen.

"I mean out there… anything could be going on. It just reminds me how full of possibilities the universe is… and… I think the same goes for us."

Hajime looked back down, facing Sonia with a warm, toothy grin. He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb while speaking.

"Our story doesn't end here. We worked together to make this happen, remember how hopeless we felt when we learned the truth about the simulation? Yet here we are, together, alive, ourselves. The future can be anything we make it. Remember? So… do you want us to die Sonia?"

Sonia shook her head without thinking, entranced by Hajime's impromptu speech.

"Okay! I guess we'll keep living, then!"

Sonia felt Hajime's hands again, he was still completely calm. He really believed what he was saying. Sonia grabbed his right hand and placed it on her cheek.

"Do you really think so? I'm just… I'm so scared, we're going to get hurt again."

"We might. I doubt everything will go smoothly from here on out." Hajime chuckled. "But we'll make it Sonia. There's no way our future ends here. Remember what Chiaki said? A **shining** future awaits us, and I believe that. I don't know how, but we'll overcome this. We've overcome despair, we've overcome the killing game, and we've overcome Junko Enoshima. So, come on, what's a little storm in comparison?"

Sonia smiled with a slight chuckle, taken back by just how amazing and supportive Hajime is capable of being.

"You remind me of Chiaki sometimes…"

Hajime smiled even more; it was a massive compliment being compared to her.

"Thanks... Now come on, I'm meant to be the pessimist remember, not you!?" Hajime teased.

Sonia covered her mouth with her left hand and giggled. "I suppose you're right. I am sorry I lost my composure there." Sonia closed her eyes and cleared her throat, coughing slightly into a closed fist.

"We are going to be okay! A **brighter, shining **future awaits us!"

Hajime felt a wave of relief wash over him, "glad to have you back." He went back into kiss Sonia again, but she held the palm of her hand in front of her, letting him kiss her fingertips instead.

Hajime opened his eyes with very evident confusion.

"Well if that's the case Hajime, perhaps we have time to wait then."

Hajime was about to say something, but the words got stuck in his throat, he let out a heavy sigh and covered his face with the palm of his hand.

"Oh man… I was really enjoying this, though." Hajime didn't realize what he was saying until after he said it. He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stop the words from escaping, but it was too late.

Sonia's cheeks went pink with embarrassment until she realized how silly she was being and started giggling. "I was too, but…" She caressed Hajime's cheek with the tips of her fingers. "We both must seek closure before this continues. I do not want us to start our relationship with any regrets."

'Closure?' Hajime thought for a moment before he understood what she was getting at. Their agreement. He still needed to see Chiaki again, and she still needed to talk to Gundham. He started thinking about starting a relationship with her now and realized that he would have regrets. He did need closure… they both did. He got so caught up in the moment that he forgot all about it.

Hajime collapsed onto the grass behind him and let out a long over-exaggerated sigh. "Oh man… yeah, you're right…"

Sonia gave him a cosy smile he adored so much. "Then we are in agreement. I presume our deal still stands? To meet up back here when everything blows over… no pun intended."

Hajime smiled, "Of course, we promised, remember?" Sonia nodded and reached over for her singlet – picking it up.

"Do you have to put your shirt back on, though?"

Sonia paused for a second, making sure she heard him right, she then gasped in shock and hit him on the shoulder. "HAJIME! I cannot believe you would say something like that!"

Hajime started laughing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was kidding, I was kidding!" Sonia kept slapping and punching him on the arm. Her mouth was still wide open with shock, but he could see she was always smiling slightly.

Eventually, Sonia put her shirt on, and Hajime sat up. They looked at each other, both smiling.

"I guess… we'll continue this… then." Hajime muttered shyly.

"I suppose we will. Although, that is a long time away, so perhaps…"

Hajime looked at Sonia inquisitively.

Sonia rocked side to side, deliberating whether or not she should say what she was thinking. She thought about it for a few moments before pounding the ground with a closed fist with determination.

"One more… for the road ahead?"

Hajime eyes lit up with excitement. He was also impressed that she got an expression right for once.

"If you want." He shrugged, trying to act indifferent. Sonia could tell he was faking it though. She scooted forward to be slightly closer and looked deeply into his eyes.

His joking nature vanished as he got lost in her silvery blue irises. He actually felt a little sad, that it would have to end for now. This was really it. Until they saved everyone, any kind of romantic relationship between them would be on pause. He realized that he would have to make this a good one.

He carefully leaned forward, getting closer to her face; eventually, he closed his eyes, and she closed hers. He felt her lips touch his. Once again, time stopped, reality disappeared around them. If a kiss could be described as magic, this was it. Something so otherworldly, so incredible, so indescribable that it felt magical. He noted that she still tasted like bubble tea and strawberry milkshakes, which made him really happy for some reason.

After a few moments, they separated and opened their eyes.

They were both in a daze trying to comprehend everything that just happened. Sonia put a hand to her heart. She realized it was beating incredibly fast, and her breathing was erratic. She took a deep breath in and out, trying her best to calm herself down.

"Oh my…" Sonia muttered under her breath.

Hajime stared at nothing for a while. He was desperately clinging to the lingering warmth he felt in his heart. Unsure of exactly when it would return, he bathed in it, letting it soak into the core of his being.

Hajime looked up to Sonia to find her equally bewildered.

"Wow…" Sonia opined with an intoxicating smile.

"You could say that again." Hajime smiled back.

"Oh okay… Wow!" Sonia answered a little confused.

"No, you're not meant to… never mind." Hajime sighed with exasperation

"Yes, what is it?"

Hajime looked at her with confusion, wondering what she was on about… then it hit him. He said, 'never mind', her last name. She was teasing him.

Hajime covered his face with his hands and shook his head. Sonia started chuckling when she realized he understood what was going on.

"You should never underestimate a Nevermind, Hajime!" Sonia cheered.

Hajime continued to shake his head. Sonia couldn't see it, but he had a big grin on his face. This is what he enjoyed doing most with Sonia. The way they were able to entertain each other, and joke around, it was something Hajime only experienced briefly with Chiaki. He couldn't believe he found a person that he liked spending time with this much.

That's when the terrifying realization dawned on him.

'Maybe I just got **lucky**.'

He felt a cold chill crawl up his spine.

'**If I got lucky then… what does that mean exactly?'**

This thought repeated in his mind over and over and over and over like a broken record.

_**COLDER**_

_**COLDER**_

_**COLDER**_

_**COLDER**_

The warmth was dissipating, this incredible warmth that he loved so much. Was it all built on a foundation of a skill that Kamukura had? Just luck? Was that all it was? Everything he had with Sonia.

He was starting to drown in this void of self-doubt when suddenly, a bright white beam of light shone through the darkness.

"Shall we go back inside?" Sonia placed her hand on Hajime's knee and smiled.

Hajime looked back at Sonia, seeing her warm smile pointed at him. He placed his hand on top of hers, feeling just how warm she really was. She had stopped his downward spiral of misery once again. Hajime smiled back.

"Yeah, let's go." Hajime was about to get up when Sonia interrupted.

"Perhaps, you should retrieve your shirt first?" Sonia pointed behind him at a black t-shirt slightly down the hill. "Or perhaps not." Sonia shrugged playfully.

Hajime chuckled and started trotting toward the shirt. He looked behind him while speaking and started taunting Sonia back, "Oh yeah… you would like that wouldn-"

_*FWOOSH*_

Hajime tripped over his feet, face planting on the grass. Because of his bare torso, he slid down the hill slightly like sled before bracing himself.

"Hajime! Are you alright!?" Sonia called out panicked.

"….ow" Hajime murmured while spitting out loose grass that got shovelled into his mouth while falling. He picked up the shirt and brushed himself off and turned around.

Sonia's look of concern was quickly replaced with absolute delight as she collapsed onto the ground and started laughing uncontrollably.

"Yeah haha, I tripped over…" Hajime pouted.

Sonia's couldn't even manage a reply as her laughing fit continued, she simply shook her head as she continued to guffaw.

Hajime scratched at his chin, wondering what she was laughing at, he then realized his chest itched from where he landed. Actually, it itched really severely. He looked down to find amongst dirt a massive green grass stain on his chest from where he fell.

"What the fuck!?" Hajime shouted to the absolute glee of Sonia who started laughing even harder.

"Y... Y…" Sonia struggled to utter words between her howls of laughter. "YOU LOOK LIKE SHREK!"

Sonia cackled as she began to fan her face with her hands, as she began to cry with laughter.

Hajime put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot with annoyance. "Is that so?"

"To the swamp with you!" Sonia exclaimed, pointing towards him before she fell back into her fit of laughter.

Hajime bit at his bottom lipped and growled slightly. He had to get her back somehow. He looked back down to grass and concocted a plan in his head.

He reached down and started smearing dirt on his chest and arms, trying to make himself as dirty as possible. He realized he would have to have a shower after this anyway, so he didn't particularly care.

"What on earth are you doing?" Sonia called out puzzled.

Then Sonia saw it, an evil contorted smile took over Hajime's face.

"You know what happens at the end of 'Shrek'… he gives the princess a kiss." Hajime held his arms out wide. "Come here, Sonia."

That's when she realized… she fucked up.

Sonia defensively put one hand in front of her with the other one pointing at him.

"No… No… Don't you dare Hajime."

"Come on, Sonia… Just a little kiss." He started walking towards her, speeding up with every step.

"NO! NO!" Sonia began to back up, realizing what he was about to do.

Hajime then started running towards her with his arms still stretched out wide.

"COME HERE!"

"AHHH!" Sonia started screaming in half jest and half absolute terror as she began to run away with a big grin on her face.

They started running laps around the cabin. Hajime managed to get close to catching Sonia a few times, but she was still able to elude his grasp.

"NO!" Sonia screamed in terror whenever he got close.

After a few minutes of pursuit, they were both out of breath.

"Alright, alright… you win Sonia."

Sonia smiled in triumph, "I am the-"

"**SHUT THE FUCK UP! WE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!**" Fuyuhiko screamed in a fit of rage from inside the cabin.

Sonia and Hajime stared at each other in disbelief. They then started giggling as quietly as they could.

Hajime nodded toward the cabin, indicating that they probably should head inside now.

…

Hajime followed Sonia around to the front before she paused at the door and turned around.

"Thank you, Hajime." She quickly pecked him on the cheek before going into the darkness of the cabin.

Hajime smiled to himself and scratched at the side of his face. He couldn't believe how amazing he felt. Under his breath, he whispered "you too…" before entering the cabin as well.

He saw his bed and instantly felt a wave of drowsiness come over him. He desperately wanted to go to sleep but before that… He looked down to see his dirt covered torso with streaks of green on it.

'I need a shower.'


	10. The Limits of Redemption

**DAY FOUR**

Why hello there! My name is Teruteru Hanamura, and in the jargon of Hope's Peak Academy, I'm known as the Ultimate Chef! Four Years ago, The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History occurred, and as it turns out, yours truly is partly to blame!

Why you see back at Hope's Peak Academy, Junko Enoshima did a whole lotta terrible things… and well… to summarise, she tortured and killed a classmate in front of myself and the rest of my compatriots. As you might imagine, this had quite a profound effect on our young and budding minds. It caused us to turn to despair. **Hailing it, worshipping it** as if it were our own mother. Speaking of which are you aware how much I love my mom? That's right a genuine momma's boy right here, and I'm proud of it!

_**Family,**_

_**Sex,**_

_**And cooking.**_

The three key ingredients to a long, happy and fulfilling life! So, you know what, with my momma being the only family I had left she meant the world to me! So, it was a right mighty shame when I burned her to death with cooking oil. The whole time she apologized profusely while her skin melted off! Apologizing that she failed as a mother! Do you have any idea how miserable I was performing the said act?

Well, I'm sorry, I do not believe the English vernacular has the capability to express just how despair-inducing that event was! So unfortunately for me, that's one thing crossed off the list of hope, the list of happiness. My mother died a long time ago, and nothing I do will ever bring her back or stop the absolute misery, I feel whenever I think about her!

_**Sex,**_

_**And cooking.**_

But hey now! Not everything is so bad, why don't we look at the next two things on this list!

Sex!

Oh boy, while I may not be as proud to introduce myself as such, I believe it would be inaccurate to call me anything less than a pervert. That's right, society may find talking about such a subject so openly; taboo, but for me, well. Let's say I don't share the same reservations…

Cock, pussy, ass, tits– while some may have their preferences, I surely do not! While the phrase may be overused, I do believe 'any holes a goal!' And oh my, was that notion put to the test when I arrived in the abandon ruins of Hope's Peak Academy.

Our very own school made into an indescribable hellscape. A ground-zero if you will, for the incident that claimed the lives of over 90% of the human population! So, when I arrived there, you can bet that cutie patootie of yours that it was right awful. In no way shape or form should that be your next holiday destination, no sir!

'Oh, but Mr Hanamura! Why oh why would you ever return to such a despicable place!?'

You may be asking yourselves. Well first off… settle down! This ain't no damn circus, I'm telling the story here, so you better zip it!

I returned to the academy for one reason and one reason only… that was to find the corpse of the ultimate despair herself, Junko Enoshima!

Now, you may already see where this story may be going, and I have some great news! You're right, I fucked it! I fucked a half-squished corpse in the hopes that somehow it may lead to the next ultimate despair being birthed into the world. Now I hate to spoil it for you but… it didn't exactly work. Shocking, I know!

As much as I tried, as it turns out, you cannot get a corpse pregnant! No siree! Make sure to use that little piece of trivia at your next barbeque, I'm sure it will go down with your guests swimmingly!

But I'm sorry, I digress! So, there I am fucking a long dead and rotting corpse, the absolute putrid smell causing me to heave and gag every few minutes. After a few days, I finally come to realize, it's not working! Not for lack of trying either!

"Well, Junko…"

That's right I started speaking to the corpse itself!

"These last few days have been truly magical, but I must be getting back to **the stock**, they will be mighty hungry by now!

…

…

"Oh well now now, I know you will miss me but hey! I suppose I can leave you a little… something, something to remember me by!"

For the fellas reading this, you may want to skip the next part because I honestly doubt you will enjoy knowing what happened next.

Hmmm, how do I put this delicately?

…

…

Oh, I know!

Before I entered the academy, I could stand up while pissing, but after, it sure was a lot harder! I hope you can understand what I'm insinuating.

Suffice to say, after the said experience I can confidently cross another item off my list!

_**And cooking.**_

Well, here it is folks! The grand finale! Cooking! My lifeblood, my passion, the last thing that brings me joy in this otherwise desolate and dying world! Well unfortunately for me even something as amazing as cooking has been contorted and corrupted by Junko's vile influence. Let me explain.

You may remember in my little chat with Junko's corpse; I mentioned a certain entity known as '**the stock'**. This is referring to one of my passion projects as despair. You see, while despair a certain… conception consumed me. The idea that the limits of cooking are far too strict, that there was only ever one goal in the culinary arts which fundamentally broke down to making delicious food. Well, I took it upon myself to broaden my horizons.

'What's the most disgusting food that can be created?'

'What 'unorthodox' ingredients can be used in cooking now that I have no restraints?'

'How does starvation and dehydration effect someone's palate?'

'What's are the lengths someone will go to, to halt the effects of said starvation and dehydration?'

'**The stock'** refers to the unwilling participants in my research. Men, women, children, a few animals, I believe there was even a baby at one point! It didn't matter to me. Everyone's despair is equal, or that's what I thought at least. Kitchen utensils that were once used for bringing joy and pleasure to anyone I served were now the tools of a sadistic torturer.

These days I can't do as much as look at a stainless-steel spoon without throwing up in my mouth. After years of using something to bring such utter despair to hundreds of people, how could I possibly go back to how things used to be?

Well, you see… that's just it.

**I can't.**

And if you hadn't noticed… we can now cross the last thing off the list…

_**There's nothing left.**_

Nothing.

Nil.

Nada.

Zilch.

Zero things that make me happy are in my life anymore.

Which means, I gotta ask?

Why bother?

I don't think I have an answer to that question.

I wish I did… honestly. But I don't.

So…

My name was Teruteru Hanamura. I went to Hope's Peak Academy. In the jargon of Hope's Peak Academy, I was known as the Ultimate Chef. Four Years ago, The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History occurred, and I was partly to blame. For the following years, I killed, starved, pillaged, murdered, dehydrated, tortured and all around was a son of a bitch to anyone unlucky enough cross paths with me.

I'm sorry for what I did.

I know that means nothing due to the grand scale of my actions but…

I really do mean it.

Maybe you can believe that at least.

…

**I hope** someone, somewhere will remember the old me…

**I hope** someone will forgive me…

**I hope** that one day. Peace and happiness will come back to the world…

My family was religious, so I gotta wonder…

Were we abandoned?

Does God hate us?

Is he dead?

I'm not sure…

I guess it doesn't matter.

Only hell and damnation await me either way.

I'm not exactly sure why I'm writing this…

I guess if anyone wants to know the story of Teruteru Hanamura?

But what would someone get out of this?

I'm a piece of shit, so why would anyone care?

I don't know…

I guess if you can learn anything from this sad, pathetic, horrible little man, it would be this…

**There's a limit to redemption…**

And I've reached mine.

* * *

Hajime's hands shook as he clutched the stacks of paper in his hands.

"W-what is this?" His voice was coarse and gravely having just woken up.

Hajime looked across the room, Teruteru was missing from his makeshift-bed.

A deep visceral stab of pure terror plunged its way into Hajime's stomach.

Hajime was about to yell; he was about to scream that they need to find him, but before he could a small piece of folded paper fell out of the stack he was holding. It was another page. Folded in half down the middle. On it the outside it read:

For

_Akane, Hajime, Sonia, Fuyuhiko, __Imposter,__ Yuki and Kazuichi's_

eyes only

Hajime opened it to find a message written inside.

_Don't blame yourselves for this._

_You guys really tried your best, and well…_

_I'll never forget that._

_But it's too late for me._

_I'm not as strong as all of you are._

_I can't…_

_I just can't come back from this…_

_I'm sorry._

_I'm so so sorry._

…

…

…

"TERU TERU!" Hajime screamed at the top of his lungs before flinging himself out the door. With adrenaline coursing through his body, he sprinted down the hill toward the hotel area as fast as he could.

He didn't bother to tell anyone what was happening. He didn't have time; he had to hurry. He dropped the stack of papers on the ground as he left and hoped that they would piece it together and follow him eventually.

One single thought bounced and raced around Hajime's head. Destroying any semblance of serenity, he once had.

'We're going to lose him… we are going to lose Teruteru.'

He couldn't let that happen. No matter what. A **brighter shining** future awaited them, and he wanted Teruteru there to see it.

He wasn't sure where to look but had a feeling of where Teruteru would be. Because at one point… he had a similar idea. He raced for the research lab.

* * *

"What the hell… What the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK!?" Akane gradually yelled louder, realizing what the note said. Everyone else was slow to wake, but Akane heard the fear in Hajime's voice when he sprinted out the door. She understood what was going on.

"W-what is it?" Kazuichi sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes.

Akane leapt for the open door looking down the path. In the distance, she could see a figure sprinting for the hotel area; she presumed it was Hajime.

"Teruteru is…" Akane's voice cracked with each word, unsure if she could say out loud what she thought the note meant. If she did… then… that was such a terrifying thought that she couldn't accept it.

"Everyone! We gotta' go! It's an emergency!" Akane yelled, her voice bellowing in the small cabin room.

She dropped the note paper on the ground. A flurry of ink making a tornado of red as the various pieces fell to the floor around her.

Everyone in the cabin looked at her startled, unsure what was going. Akane started running out the door.

"NOW!" She screamed behind her.

Everyone leapt out of their beds and followed her lead.

* * *

"COME ON! COME ON!" Hajime had made it to the hotel area, utterly unaware of his exhaustion, adrenaline being the only thing powering him through. "I HAVE TO MAKE IT!"

He circled around the pool looking up at the roof of the research building…

There he was.

Teruteru was staring off into the distance towards the ocean, unaware of Hajime's presence.

Hajime's mind and body stopped. He paused, looking up at the chef in awe, as he sat upon the metal railing surrounding the edges of the roof. All his worst fears were coming true, his harrowing prediction was correct.

Hajime broke out of his horror and entered the research building, careful to make sure Teruteru couldn't hear him coming. Each step took tremendous effort as he climbed the stairs, he had felt this kind of pressure before. That if he messed up, someone was going to die. Over and over again, he felt this tremendous strain before each class trial. As he climbed the stairs, he was reminded of the slow ride of the elevator down to the trial grounds. The shaking. The Terror. The sickness. The despair. It was like he never left. Once again, life and death were in his hands.

He arrived. A dark blue door greeted him, with a bar to push it open. This was it…

He was the one who figured out the very first murder case and caused Teruteru to be executed. But now…

'I have to save him.'

Hajime pressed the palm of his hand against the door.

…

The first thing he felt was the cool rushing wind against his face. Multiple stories up on a tropical island was bound to be windy. Next, he saw the dark sky above him. The last stars fading into darkness one by one as the day slowly encroached. Finally, there… at the opposite end of the roof, he had found him. His hair was an uncombed mess reaching just below his ears. Shoulder bones sticking out of a white collared shirt. Dark red shorts, breaking the theme of cool and bright colours. As Hajime approached the individual, they dangled their legs over the edge of the building, while staring off towards the approaching sunrise. All of a sudden…

They turned their head towards Hajime.

With sad eyes and a warm smile, Hajime was greeted by them.

"Why hello there."

Hajime gulped; this was it.

"Hey, Teruteru…"

Teruteru shook his head and grabbed at the railing, straining his hand as he gripped it tightly.

"I'm sorry… I was meant to be gone by now, but… I wanted to see a sunrise… did you know I've never actually seen one?" Teruteru turned his head back towards the ocean. "It's just one of those things… I heard they are beautiful but, I never got around to seeing it. I mean, who can be bothered getting up that early, right!?" Teruteru chuckled.

"Teruteru…" That's all Hajime could manage to mutter. He had no idea what to say.

"Want to watch the sunrise with me, Hajime?"

"O-okay…"

Hajime nervously approached the railing that Teruteru was sitting on. He leaned against it, next to him and looked off into the distance.

A long silence followed as they both stared into the horizon, tearily eyed.

"…Please… don't do this." Hajime muttered.

"Hajime…"

Hajime slammed his hands on the railing and yelled. "DON'T DO THIS TERUTERU! PLEASE! YOU CAN GET THROUGH THIS! WE CAN GET THROUGH THIS!"

Teruteru didn't reply, with words. He turned around to face Hajime, with a look that would haunt his nightmares. He smiled a warm and calm smile, a smile of acceptance.

"How do you do it… living with yourself after what you've done?" Teruteru stated, calmly and dispassionately.

"I…" Hajime was still taken back with just how calm Teruteru was.

"This might be the most beautiful place left on earth… you ever think about that? Nearly untouched by the tragedy."

Teruteru giggled with exasperation.

"The tragedy that we caused… How do you live with yourself after that?"

Hajime thought for a little while. He thought hard and carefully. Eventually, he decided, if these were going to be his last moments with Teruteru, he wanted to be honest with him.

"Honestly… I don't." Hajime sighed, letting the wind catch the exhaled air from his lungs. Carrying it to a faraway place. "You're not the first person to think of jumping off this roof. That's why I figured I'd find you up here."

"Really?" Teruteru was still composed, but Hajime could hear a tinge of surprise in his voice.

"Yeah… I don't think I deserve to live. I'm just a kid who wanted to be special and ended up hurting so, so many people because of it. Honestly… if it was just up to me… I'd probably join you up on that ledge."

"You…" Teruteru grabbed onto his chin and thought for a moment, careful to brace himself on the railing with his other hand. "Then, why don't you?"

"Because it's not just up to me." Hajime smiled. All of a sudden, their conversation was interrupted by a voice from below.

"TERUTERU!". Akane yelled. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Teruteru watched as Akane, Kazuichi, Fuyuhiko, Yuki and then Sonia rounded the corner looking up at him.

"Please, Teruteru do not do this!" He heard Sonia cry. "There has been far too much death already!"

"I've forgiven you, Teruteru! I know you meant no harm! Come down this instant!" Yuki shouted.

"You see them, Teruteru?" Hajime asked, pointing at the group of their friends.

Teruteru blankly looked toward them.

"Those guys think I'm a good person or something. I mean, I don't believe them for a second. But… Well, the thing is…" Hajime placed his hand on top of Teruteru's, as it held the railing. "I look at them, and I think their good people. I really do. So then… I guess I understand why they think I am as well. Tell me… do you think those guys down there are bad people?"

Teruteru stared at the group, unblinking. His mind was trying to put the pieces together of what Hajime was saying.

"So, believe me when I say this: I think you're a good person Teruteru and you deserve to live, like the rest of us."

Teruteru was awestruck with disbelief. "Wow, so that's what it is… that's how you keep going." Teruteru then nodded his head with newfound determination. "Tell me something, Hajime."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you can all get through this? Even with everything that's happened. Even with the world against you, are you going to keep going? No matter what?"

Hajime smiled and squeezed Teruteru's hand a little tighter. "Yeah… I… I think so."

Teruteru let out a massive sigh of relief, letting the ocean breeze flow over his entire body, cleansing himself from his self-doubt.

"Good. I'm delighted to hear that Hajime." Teruteru turned to face him, smiling.

"**Then I'll leave the rest to you.**"

…

…

…

Hajime thought he must have misheard what Teruteru said. "W-what?"

"I was distraught, thinking that my selfish actions may cause you guys to give up or something. So I'm glad to hear you'll keep going."

"W-what!? NO! Teruteru didn't you hear what I said! The same applies to you!"

"I know," Teruteru replied straight away in a far too relaxed tone of voice.

"Huh!?"

"Didn't you read my letter?"

Hajime stared at Teruteru in disbelief, his heart was starting to beat faster and faster.

"I don't have anything to live for anymore. It doesn't matter if you hate or me or love me. Either way… It's over."

"NO! Teruteru, you may not have anything to live for now, but I swear one day you will!"

"You're probably right…" Teruteru smiled warmly in Hajime's direction. He wasn't scared, he wasn't nervous, he wasn't sad. He was happy, he had accepted what was going to happen and took joy in that fact. "Maybe in some distant future, I can be happy again. Maybe I'd find something to live for. Something that doesn't' involve family, sex or cooking."

"You will! I kno-"

"But I can't get to that point…" Teruteru interrupted.

"You all have things to live for…

But my world,

It's all gone.

Everything I once loved,

Is gone.

I know there are still things in this world that are worth holding onto for you.

But for me…

Well…

You know the rest."

Teruteru carefully slipped off the railing and planted his feet on the outer edge of the building. His feet were having barely anything left to stand on.

"Teruteru!" Hajime yelled; his voice cracked.

"It's okay… I just got **unlucky**, that's all."

"Teruteru… please, just come back over the railing. Let's talk about this."

"I'm glad I talked to you Hajime… I think I have a better understanding of what you're all fighting for now." Teruteru turned his head away from the desperate cries below him to face Hajime. "I hope one day you can all find that future you speak of. I hope you can find redemption for what you've done. I… I really do."

"Teruteru please!" Hajime grabbed around Teruteru's waist, holding him in place.

"I'm sorry Hajime… if I try to imagine getting through this with nothing to live for. The only thing driving me is the hope that one day I will find something… well… I'm sorry, it's not enough. I do hope you understand that."

"I know it's hard, okay! You might have it worse than the rest of us, but… but…" Hajime had no idea what to say anymore. "Please don't do this!"

Teruteru realized that Hajime was now merely stating platitudes in futile attempt to get him to stop. Teruteru stopped listening to him so intently now looking into the distance in front of him.

"I'm really glad I got to meet you, Hajime. I think we could have been excellent friends. Or maybe even more than that!" Teruteru laughed to himself.

"Teruteru, come on… don't joke around like this. Please!" Tears were starting to form in Hajime's eyes. **"I don't want to lose any more people!"**

"You're right… I'm sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I? I'll stop being selfish and causing you all this pain."

"TERUTERU PLEASE!"

"But, damn… I was so close… any moment now the sun will rise, won't it?"

"PLEASE! FUCKING HELL TERUTERU, PLEASE! IM BEGGING YOU!"

"Oh well… that's okay. As long as you guys get to see it. I think… that's enough."

"Please… please, please, please!" Hajime whimpered.

…

…

Teruteru was silent, Hajime looked up to see him looking at the people below.

"Hey, Hajime…"

Teruteru turned his entire body around, Hajime was careful not to loosen his grip as he did it. Even if he jumped, he was confident that he be able to hold his weight. Hajime held on to him as tightly as he could bracing for the worst. He closed his eyes and tensed up his entire body, ready.

What Hajime didn't expect though was for a warm sensation over his shoulders. Teruteru was hugging his crouched body through the railing.

"Good luck, I really hope you guys pull it off."

"YOU'RE FUCKING CRAZY IF YOU THINK IM GOING TO LET YOU GO!" Hajime screamed in defiance of the invertible.

"Hey, Hajime… remember one of the first things we talked about?"

Hajime stayed silent, wholly focused on keeping Teruteru secured to the railing.

"We met in the diner. I was asking Sonia if she could suck the poison out of… well… I'm sure you get the idea."

"Why bring that up now!?"

"Well after that I also said, 'I feel like Miss Sonia over there has a good chance of putting out.' So…"

Teruteru giggled manically.

"Good luck with that too!"

"WHY!? How can you joke around at a time like this?!"

"Come on now, that's just the kind of person I am. I came into this world, a cook, a momma's boy and a pervert and I'll gosh darn be damned if I don't go out that way."

Hajime remained silent.

"You sure aren't giving up, are you? I sure am flattered but, **in the end… you're going to have to let go."**

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU GO! I DON'T… I don't… I don't want to lose someone again."

"I really am being selfish aren't I… It pains me to see you this way Hajime it really does… but it looks like I'll have to cause you a little more pain before it's over."

Hajime noticed Teruteru step a foot through the railing, he wondered what he was doing before he realized the painful truth.

With as much force as he could muster Teruteru kicked Hajime in the crotch, instinctively he went to defend himself with his hands, but unfortunately, that's all the time Teruteru needed.

"TERUTERU!" Hajime screamed as tried to grab him, but… it was **too late**. He was greeted with nothing but air as he watched Teruteru propel himself from the ledge.

Hajime's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

***BANG***

Hajime would never forget their screams. The screams of his friends watching as once again… after everything… they had to see one of their friends die.

He couldn't possibly accept this… this **despair**. This utter defeat.

But…

That's when the truth blinded him. As the sun finally began to rise on a new day. A new day where Teruteru Hanamura was dead.

**DAY FIVE**

Hajime slammed the ground with his fist in frustration as he watched the sun peek over the horizon. Teruteru was so, so close to seeing a sunrise. To seeing a new day, a brighter one. But now… he would never get the chance.

'**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**Never…**

**He's never coming back.**

**Nothing mattered.**

**In the end.**

**It was all for nothing.**

**I failed.**

**Sonia failed.**

**Fuyuhiko failed.**

**Yuki failed.**

**Akane failed.**

**Kazuichi failed.**

**We failed.**

**We lost.**

…'

Hajime curled up into a ball and closed his eyes.

'**I'm done.'**

"No, you're not."

…

"You're Hajime Hinata."

…

"You don't give up."

…

"It's okay to cry."

…

"But eventually…"

…

"You get back up."

…

"And you keep going."

…

"Because in the end… you made me a promise, and I know you'll keep it…"

…

…

…

Hajime got up and with heavy steps, made his way to the bottom of the research lab.

* * *

Waiting on the ground floor of the building in the lobby were Kazuichi, Yuki and Sonia.

No one reacted to him entering the room. Each of them stared toward the ground with a thousand-yard stare.

Hajime sat down on the floor and leaned against a wall next to the stairs. After some time passed, he spoke up.

"Where're the others?"

"Cleaning up outside…" Kazuichi muttered.

"Oh…"

Hajime looked around the room. Kazuichi was scratching at his head while thinking. Yuki was reading what looked like Teruteru's suicide note while leaning against the doorway leading outside. Sonia was twiddling with a lock of her hair while staring toward the ground. He could tell that each of them was deeply affected by Teruteru's death just by looking at them.

* * *

One day. One single day. That's all they got with him.

Then again…

Hajime realized that everyone knew him far better than he did. He had only met him in the simulation, he couldn't even recall meeting him as Kamukura. While everyone else spent years with him back at Hope's Peak. Having realized this, Hajime knew he needed to act, put his own emotions aside and help everyone else get through this devastating defeat.

"I'll be back later…" Suddenly Kazuichi got up and started leaving. Hajime went to chase after him but hesitated, realizing he would be leaving behind Sonia and Yuki. He looked back, but neither of them seemed even to notice. He debated if it was alright to leave them like that but…

He saw Kazuichi get further away. He didn't want him to go off on his own without talking to him.

So, he followed.

* * *

**Hajime & Kazuichi**

Once Hajime finally caught up to Kazuichi, he was behind the hotel's restaurant, near the shrubs. Oddly they smelled like someone threw up on them. On the way there Hajime did his best to avert his gaze from Akane and Fuyuhiko cleaning up blood-stained concrete from where Teruteru fell.

Kazuichi had his hand on his chin, carefully examining the back of the building as if he was investigating it.

"Hey, Kazuichi… what are you doing?" Hajime questioned, wondering why he was so intently staring at the building.

"Oh, hey, man. I'm just checking something real quick before I go back to work on the alarm system."

"Really? Are you sure… now's the best time?"

Kazuichi let out a long sigh and placed his hands on his hips.

"No, I doubt it is… but that's why I want to get it done. We just lost someone today, and there is no way I'm letting it happen again because I didn't get the alarm system working in time."

Hajime was surprised at Kazuichi's conviction, he had really matured as a person recently. Although he wondered if he had always been this way when he wasn't gawking over Sonia.

"Okay… that's probably a good idea but… are you alright?"

Kazuichi flicked his hand away in a dismissive gesture. "Eh, don't worry about me alright, truth is we didn't really know each other all that well. Just go help the others yeah, I'm going to do what I can to help in the meantime." Kazuichi smiled at Hajime with assurance.

"Oh… yeah okay. I'll see you later then." Hajime was a little shocked at just how well Kazuichi was taking this, but he seemed very sure of himself, so he decided he would trust him to leave him alone.

"Yeah, if you need me, I'll be fixing that fucking alarm." Kazuichi walked past Hajime back towards the research building.

Which begged the question… what was Kazuichi doing here in the first place then? Why bother coming here if he was just going to go back to the research building.

Hajime examined the back wall of the hotel's building, where Kazuichi was looking. There was nothing out of the ordinary except a small door leading to what Hajime presumed was a storage area.

'Is this what he was looking at?' Hajime wondered.

He presumed it would be locked, being a door to a storage area but decided to try it anyway.

_***Click***_

To Hajime's amazement, it was unlocked. He peeked inside, but it was empty.

He couldn't figure it out why Kazuichi was investigating here, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. With a sceptical huff, Hajime headed back toward the research building, deciding to face his fear and meet up with Akane and Fuyuhiko on the way.

* * *

**Hajime, Akane & Fuyuhiko**

Once he arrived the first thing that he noticed was the smell. Faeces and urine permeated the surrounding area as a sickly reminder of what happened. As Hajime approached Akane and Fuyuhiko, he noticed they both had t-shirts covering their mouths and noses as impromptu masks of sorts. While it wasn't exactly necessary, he understood their reasoning. Standing a few steps away, he greeted them.

"Hey…"

Fuyuhiko and Akane turned around, noticing Hajime, before turning their attention back to the blood stain on the bricked flooring. The body was gone, and they were scrubbing at the bloodstain with sponges, occasionally getting soapy water from a bucket next to them.

"Hey…" Akane muttered. "We got the body on a stretcher we found and put him around the back of the lab…"

Akane paused, thinking.

"We're wondering what to do with it…" Fuyuhiko continued for her.

"Right…" Hajime scratched at the back of his neck. It's not something you think about, but they had to do something with the corpse before it started rotting.

"So, we just gonna bury him?" Hajime sat crossed legged on the ground while playing with loose gravel in between the cracks of the bricks.

"No shovels." Fuyuhiko shrugged.

"No spades either…" Akane scrubbed at the ground with her sponge with slightly more ferocity.

"Oh right… that makes sense…" Hajime replied.

"We were thinking about cremating him." Fuyuhiko ringed the sponge watching the bloody water fall off it, before putting the sponge wrist deep into the soapy water the bucket held.

Hajime didn't like that idea. "I don't know if that would be… umm… how do I put this? … Appropriate? With the way, he died in the simulation and everything."

Both Akane and Fuyuhiko stared at the ground confused, pondering over the dilemma.

"I guess you're right… he didn't mention how he wanted his body taken care of, did he?" Akane huffed.

"Well shit… what are we going to do then?" Fuyuhiko sighed.

They all thought for a little while, trying to recall any methods of body disposal they could remember.

"I mean he was a cook, right? **Maybe he'd like to be** **eaten**!? Heh..." Fuyuhiko jeered.

Akane paused, staring at the bloody stain beneath her. Hajime noticed that her face was starting to contort into pure terror.

Hajime shot up and raced over to Akane's side and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, why don't I take over, yeah? You've been at this a while now so why don't you take a break?"

Akane didn't listen to Hajime's proposition. She saw the blood beneath her, memories of her time as despair squeezing their way into her mind and drenching it in the memory of the bloodshed she had caused.

She felt the tender squishiness of the sponge in her hand. She had felt this sensation before. Many times

**Tender.**

**Squishy.**

**Bloody.**

She sat up, terrified of the object that was now in her hand. Very slowly, she raised it into her field of vision.

* * *

"Hey, Akane! You still with me!?"

She stared at the juicy piece of flesh in front of her face with insatiable gluttony as she squeezed it in between her fingers.

**Tender.**

**Squishy.**

**Bloody.**

Suddenly she heard a loud clicking sound in front of her as Nekomaru snapped his fingers.

"Come on, let's go wake them up." Nekomaru stood up straight adorning a big smile and a woodcutter's axe resting on his left shoulder.

"Why did I ever agree to a plan where I don't get to eat right away?! Oh man…"

With a heavy sigh, Akane got up from the log she was sitting on and headed to the campfire.

It was the middle of the night, the distant sound of crickets and the crackling of the fire being the only thing heard for miles around them. They were in the middle of Aokigahara forest at the base of Mount Fuji, a tangled sickly mess of trees surrounding them. Their small campfire being the only source of light in this netting of fauna encircling them.

Akane spotted an iron next to their bags and placed it carefully next to the flame, heating it up. She then rounded the campfire and sat down in front of her two brothers. They both had gags in their mouths, their hands and necks chained around a tree next to them. The brother to the left was

**Juro**. Black spiked hair, tall, lean and around the age of thirteen although Akane wasn't exactly sure. She stopped remembering frivolous details like those a long time ago.

The brother on the right, and closest to Akane was** Itsuki**. Around the age of seventeen, he was reasonably well built for his age as well as being tall. Dark brown hair mopped his head.

Akane stared at the blurry faces in front of her. They had changed so much since she last saw them that they were close to unrecognizable.

"Alright…" Satisfied with her examination, Akane nodded towards Nekomaru, who nodded in return. They both removed the cloth gags around their mouths and hung them around their necks. Nekomaru then got a burning stick from the fire and placed it against the thigh of the brother on the left; Juro.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" With a bloodcurdling scream, Juro was awoken from his slumber.

"Well hey, there sleepy head!" Akane smiled in his direction.

"Wha-what… WHAT THE FUCK! What's happening? Is that you Akane?"

"A-Akane?"

Akane turned from Juro to the brother directly in front of her Itsuki. It seemed he woke up to Juro's anguished screams.

"Hey, Lil Bro! How you been?" Akane smiled.

"W… we thought you were dead…" Itsuki went to lean in closer to embrace his long-lost sister but was suddenly stopped by the chains around his wrists and neck.

"W-wait? What's going on!?" Itsuki panicked looking around at his surroundings. He had no clue where he was or how he ended up here. There was a large and strange man wielding an axe looming above him and his older sister in front of him.

He had so many questions racing around his head, but they all disappeared when he turned to his right. Nothing but **despair** replacing it.

His younger brother was crying, chained up to a tree just like him…

And the fat on his lower left thigh…

**Was missing**, nothing but bandages surrounding the gap.

He turned back towards his sister, absolutely petrified when he realized. Akane was holding a slab of meat in her left hand. One that looked suspiciously… **human**.

"A-Akane?" Itsuki muttered under his breath. Akane smiled back with the same broad smile he had seen her use thousands of times. In happier times. "What is this?"

"It's a family reunion!" Akane jumped up and cheered. "And it's the last one too! It took wayyyyyyy too long to find out which holdout you were hiding in, the **others** were so much easier to track down!"

Itsuki thought back… he remembered an alarm sounding with some kind of noxious gas seeping through the ski resort their group were held up in.

'So, is that how they got us?' Itsuki wondered to himself, but then an even more pressing question came to the forefront of his mind.

"What happened to our friends!?" Itsuki yelled at Akane.

Akane smiled back with the same smile, not an ounce of hostility or ill intent visible in her expression. Which terrified him.

"Take a look for yourself!" Akane turned to her side with an enthusiastic flourish, as if revelling a great new invention.

There, in a gratuitous heaped pile, lay the corpses of every single person in the ski-resort they once shared.

Itsuki turned his head back and forth, examining the pile. He figured he must be seeing something wrong, there was no way all these people he knew for so long were just dead. Gone. Never to come back again.

He looked back to Akane with an utter complex of disbelief.

He couldn't muster any words. What was there, possibly to say?

Akane kneeled back down and leaned in real close.

"I killed them all. I slit their throats while they were sleeping. Which means they had a quiet, painless death. They probably didn't even see it coming. Aren't I the best big sister!" Akane looked toward Juro and then back toward Itsuki. "Now as the best big sister in the world, I've gotta say I'm disappointed in you Itsuki!" Akane shook her head.

"WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT DID YOU…" Akane placed the gag back over his mouth. Muffling his screams of profanity.

"What the hell, I thought I taught you two to respect your elders. So, do you mind not interrupting me while I'm speaking?"

"FURCK YOU!" Itsuki yelled through the gag.

Akane let out a long-defeated sigh, before nodding toward Nekomaru. She looked at Itsuki with a disapproving look.

"You know… this wouldn't have to happen if you just listen."

Itsuki didn't know what she was insinuating, he looked over to his brother to see the large man far closer to him than he was before.

"AHAHA! Grit your teeth kiddo!" The large man yelled. He held Juro's head against the tree and very carefully lined up the blunt end of the axe with his mouth. He then wound back his arm and…

**smashed Juro's teeth in.**

A satisfying _***crunch***_ sound was heard as the shrapnel of Juro's teeth cut his mouth.

Juro tried to scream in agony but started choking on his own blood and teeth. He spit out the remains of his front teeth before he started nodding up and down, about to pass out.

"Oh no, you don't!" The large man exclaimed, grabbing a burning stick from the campfire and stabbing it into Juro's thigh once again.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Both Juro and Itsuki screamed in horror.

"OP! OP IT, PEASE!" Itsuki begged through his gag.

The large man kneeled and grabbed Juro by the chin to face him. "Now you gonna stay awake?"

Juro nodded through gritted gums. Trying his best not to scream.

"Good, cause you don't want to miss out on this next part! AHAHA!" The large man laughed uproariously, slamming Juro' head into the tree as he let him go.

"You going to let me speak?" Akane sneered.

Itsuki nodded up and down furiously.

"Great, now as I was saying. I'm disappointed in you Itsuki. You're so skinny now! Are you not getting your protein!?"

…

"Well, not to worry, your big sis will feed you right!"

…

Itsuki could hear it. The squelch between Akane's fingers. The fat was seeping and dripping off the ends of it. A slab of flesh. Next, he heard Juro's muffled screams through the gag.

He knew what this was.

"**Eat it." **Akane sneered in a poisonous and hostile whisper.

Instinctively Itsuki shook his head frantically. Just realizing that she was holding a part of his brother's thigh made him sick to his stomach already.

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry! I can be such a fucking idiot sometimes! What were we thinking Nekomaru!?" Akane slapped the slab of meat against her forehead in place of her palm. "Your gag is still on!" Akane slipped the cloth from his mouth.

"What the hell happened to you Akane! Why ar…." He was cut off again as Akane put the gag back in his mouth.

Akane grabbed the bridge of her nose, letting out a sigh of frustration.

"You serious dude? What did I say about interrupting me?" Akane nodded back toward Nekomaru.

"NO! PEASE!"

"PEASE DON DO THIS!"

Both Itsuki and Juro's muffled begs could be heard through their gags as Nekomaru rounded the tree behind Juro. Nekomaru took the same axe turning the blunt end toward Juro and smashed in his elbow.

"_**AAAAAHHHHHH…**_

_**AHHHHHHHHHH…**_

_**AHHHHHHHHH!"**_

Juro screamed and screamed, realizing he now had no feeling in his hand.

Before Itsuki could adequately react to what was going on, he felt Akane slip the gag off.

"**EAT**…"

Itsuki rocked back and forth, only a slight moan escaping his mouth. This was an unbearable situation, a hopeless situation, a **despair**-inducing situation. Itsuki's mind was beginning to break, there was no possible way for him to deal with all this.

Akane pressed the meat up to his lips. But Itsuki stared for with a blank thousand-yard stare, his mind was brought to a halt. It couldn't possibly make sense of his surroundings.

"AND TO THINK IM BEING SO KIND AS TO FEED YOU!" Akane screamed into his face.

Itsuki ignored her, still in another world.

"Yeah, Akane…" Nekomaru started to belly laugh, taking delight in the situation. "I still don't think he gets it. Want me to turn it up a notch?"

Akane dismissively waved her hand up and down. "Yeah, go for it."

*****_**whistle**_*****

Nekomaru whistled for Itsuki's attention, with great hesitation he turned his head toward him.

"Now, Itsuki! I count two hands, two feet, two ears, two eyes, a dick and a tongue." Nekomaru swung the axe above his head and slammed it down onto Juro's ankle. Cleanly cutting off Juro's right foot.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHhhhhhh_hhhh….." _Juro passed out from the pain before he could continue screaming.

Nekomaru dropped the axe to the ground, grabbing the **hot iron** that was heating up on the campfire. "Now, how many pieces of him do we have to cut off before you start eating your brother?" Nekomaru placed the iron on Juro's stump cauterizing the wound. Juro came to once again screaming in agony at the pain.

Itsuki felt the press of his brothers flesh against his lips once again. His mind was broken, nothing but despair remained as he started to bite down on the meat.

Akane smiled and cheered as he started eating.

Meanwhile, Nekomaru finished cauterizing the wound, to the great satisfaction of Juro and kneeled behind him. He began unchaining him from the tree. Juro had a small amount of hope that they were freeing him from this situation, before Nekomaru's words corrupted and invaded his mind.

"_**Do you hate your brother?**_

_**He's eating you right now.**_

_**If he didn't hesitate earlier, you wouldn't have gotten burnt.**_

Juro tried to cover his ears, he tried to block out the dark and evil thoughts the Nekomaru was placing in his mind… but his words were… intoxicating.

_**It's all his fault.**_

_**He burnt you.**_

_**He shattered your teeth.**_

_**He broke your elbow.**_

_**He chopped off your foot.**_

He heard Nekomaru unlock his chains, the tensions around his wrists and neck were now gone.

_**He's the one who is responsible for all your misery.**_

_**So…**_

_**Are you going to let him get away with it?"**_

Nekomaru's bloody axe was placed in his hand. Itsuki caused him all this pain, if he were a better brother, he wouldn't have gotten hurt, all their friends would still be alive, he would even have his foot.

These dark thoughts swirled around in his mind like a black hole consuming any idea of forgiveness or reason. He clutched the axe tighter in his hand.

He got up and started limping toward Itsuki. Akane smiled at him with a warm smile, a reassuring smile that he had seen thousands of times. One that said, 'you're doing the right thing.'

Itsuki looked up to his brother, bits of gristle stuck in his teeth. "Juro?"

Hearing him speak…

Hearing this piece of shit speak, one that caused him so much pain…

Anger, hatred, envy, betrayal, only these emotions existed towards his brother now.

Juro's breathing became faster and more frantic.

"Juro!?" Itsuki questioned more frantically, confused why he wasn't attacking their captors.

That's when Itsuki learned the truth of Juro's reasoning.

"**IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"**

The last thing Itsuki experienced was his brother swinging an axe into his face.

Juro started chopping at his brother's corpse, with ferocity and bloodlust. Even the site of his intact body pissed him off, so he started chopping at it.

"**I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!**

**I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!**

**I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!**

**I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"**

…

"We did it!" Akane cheered offering Nekomaru a high five.

"Those were the last members of your family correct!? Congratulations Akane!"

_***Clap***_

They high-fived, finally their quest had come to an end.

But their celebration ended abruptly as Juro began swinging the axe wildly towards Akane, screaming vicious profanities.

"WATCH OUT!" Nekomaru pushed her out of the way before disarming Juro of the axe. He then took the handle and bashed him on the head, knocking him out cold.

"AHAHAHA! Cheeky fucker came at us!" Nekomaru laughed, "you gotta be more careful, Akane!"

"**You're always protecting me Nekomaru**, thanks!" Akane got up from the ground and dusted herself off. "Let's get out of here before the sun comes up. Fuyuhiko and the rest should be waiting for us in town."

"Right! Let us go!" Nekomaru boomed.

They started heading off towards the edge of the forest. Akane realized she still had the thigh of her brother in her hand. She raised it into her field of vision, examining closer as the light of the campfire got further and further away. It was covered in dirt, spit and blood. But she was still hungry so, she wiped it on her shirt getting the worst of it off before digging in.

* * *

"Akane?" Fuyuhiko questioned, unsure of her sudden change.

Akane was on her hands and knees, dry heaving, looking at the sponge and blood in her field of vision.

Both Hajime and Fuyuhiko heard a gurgling and splutter from Akane's stomach. She began to gag and heave. Hajime, having realized what was going to happen quickly, pulled down her make-shift mask off her face and held back her hair.

Then like expelling a sickness, Akane threw up the contents of her stomach. A mix of bile and last night's dinner covering the stain they were cleaning.

"Shit! We were almost done! GODDAMNIT!" Fuyuhiko yelled.

But to the dissatisfaction of everyone involved Akane wasn't done yet. Violently coughing, before hurling up anything that was left.

"AAAHHHHHH!" Akane screamed, slamming her fist on the ground and throwing her sponge away as far as she could.

"Woah, hey?" Fuyuhiko's anger was replaced with concern after Akane's outburst. Hajime shimmed her back slightly before helping her up.

Akane started bawling her eyes out, hiccupping and coughing in between her anguished cries. She hid her face into her arms, wiping away her tears with her forearms.

Hajime and Fuyuhiko looked at each other, communicating with their stares their concern for their friend. Having heard the outburst, Sonia, Kazuichi and Yuki came running out of the research building and towards the group.

"What has happened!?" Sonia shouted, running towards them. "Akane! Are you okay!?"

Sonia went to embrace Akane, but to everyone's shock, especially Sonia's, Akane pushed her back with full force.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Akane yelled. "You… you… I'm…"

Everyone was around Akane in a semi-circle, a few feet away. Hands held out in front of their wastes with their palms facing her, trying to be as non-threatening as possible.

But to Akane, it looked like they were trying to calm down a feral animal.

"FUCK OFF! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Akane tightened her hands into fists. Her face contorted into a mix of misery and anger.

"Akane! Please, what is wrong!?" Sonia slowly and carefully approached.

Akane's farce of anger deteriorated as she got closer. Eventually, her rage was no longer directed at those around her, but herself.

"He… he was right…" Akane relaxed her entire body letting her arms collapse to her sides. She looked up into the morning sky with obscured vision through her tears. "I… I can't come back from this… there really is a limit to redemption."

"Akane!?" Sonia called out to her, she raced forward and grabbed her hand, squeezing it in hers. "Do not say such things! You are a good person!"

"HOW!? … How can you say that… I… I…

I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry…

Itsuki… Juro… everyone…"

"Shit…" Hajime whispered under his breath. He put two and two together and had an Idea of what she was upset about.

Hajime stepped forward and sat down to the now collapsed Akane. Sonia looked at him with fear and trepidation as she continued to hold onto her hand. Hajime nodded with affirmation. Everyone else looked on at the situation unsure what to do.

"You remembered something terrible, didn't you Akane?" Hajime asked.

While covering her face with her hands, Akane nodded.

That confirmed Hajime's suspicions. Something about what Fuyuhiko said and possibly the blood and sponge around her caused her to have an episode of PTSD. Now the problem was how to help her. Hajime thought for a little while, before deciding to ask her a similar question to what he did last time Akane was upset.

"What do you think Nekomaru would say?"

"He was there…" Akane mumbled. "We did it. We did those terrible things, together…"

"Well… uh…" Hajime wasn't sure what to say now, looks like the same trick wouldn't work twice. "Do you think he deserves redemption?"

"Maybe? But… they were my siblings… I talked him into helping me. WE KILLED THEM ALL! It's my fault…" Akane was hysterical. She was broken. Her entire reality was shattering around her. Her episode had finally given her the clarity to accept the things she had done. No longer trying not to think about them but now she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Hajime looked behind them at the vomit covered blood stain a few metres away. A haunting reminder of what could happen if someone gives up. He had to help her; the question was how.

"I hunted them down like a fucking serial killer. I tortured them before I killed them, all my siblings… how… how do you come back from that?"

Hajime bit as his bottom lip. He remembered hearing in the simulation of Akane's family. She had a bunch of siblings that she took care of, but now… she had to deal with the fact that she was the one that killed them all. With brutality as well… he could understand her anguish better.

"I don't even know why I keep fighting anymore… why I keep living… **maybe Teruteru had the right id**-"

"_GAH-HAHAAHAAHAHA"_ Nekomaru's boisterous laugh could suddenly be heard. Everyone turned in complete awe to see Yuki standing in the spot of where the sound came from.

"_I NEVER THOUGHT YOU WERE SUCH A WEAKLING! To think someone like you thought they could beat me! IT'S HILARIOUS!"_ Yuki shouted in the exact manner, pronunciation, enunciation, pitch and volume as Nekomaru would. He sounded exactly like him, which was a little weird hearing that voice coming out of Yuki.

"W-what?" Akane stuttered in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, maybe that wasn't appropriate for me to say…" Yuki scratched at the back of his neck, embarrassed. "But I'm pretty sure he would say something like that."

"So, what!?" Akane shouted back in anger. "He would just insult me?! I doubt Nekomaru would do that!"

"If he saw you giving up like this… I'm near certain." Yuki replied with confident assurance.

"B…but…"

"Hey, Akane…" Fuyuhiko suddenly spoke up, everyone looked in his direction expectedly. "I guess… that memory really messed you up, huh? Well, you should try to remember what you told me the other day in the restaurant."

Akane looked down toward the ground contemplating over what Fuyuhiko said.

"You know some of the fucked-up shit I've done… and well… there is no way in hell I'm giving up. I don't know about all this redemption stuff, but I don't really care. I just want to see Peko again."

"ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH A FIGHTING SPIRIT!" Yuki shouted, imitating Nekomaru.

"We've all done nasty stuff Akane…" Kazuichi scratched at his bearded chin. "But I mean… we **ALL** have. So, in a way… a really fucked up way… it's comforting."

"Hey, remember Akane…" Hajime nodded in her direction. "Whatever you're done… it's near certain I've done something similar."

"But even though we have done all these terrible things…" Sonia continued. "We continue to fight…"

"Akane…" Hajime got her attention, he then turned slightly making sure everyone could hear him. "I was the last person to talk to Teruteru before he died… and I know in his letter it said he reached his limit when it comes to redemption, but I don't think that's precisely right…

I think…

I think I convinced him that he was worthy of redemption but in the end… he didn't have anything to fight for anymore. That's what his suicide note was really about... that's why he went through with it."

Hajime stood up, looking at the people around him.

"He said he hoped that one day we all find the redemption were fighting for… but… honestly?"

Hajime scoffed.

"Redemption is bullshit. It's completely subjective. So… in the case of the world. I don't think we can ever redeem ourselves for what we've done. But… if you're asking me. You don't have to fight for it… because you don't have anything to redeem yourselves for."

Everyone cringed slightly hearing him say that, not believing what he was saying.

"It's okay… I don't expect you to believe me. But… I really do think that. I guess the only person you need to redeem yourself to is yourself. I know we're all struggling to do that… sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself. I… no… we, we all know that too well."

"What are you even saying Hajime?" Akane asked bewildered.

"Yeah sorry, I'm not the best at impromptu speeches." Hajime sighed. "What I'm trying to say is: The only person you need to redeem yourself to is yourself. That's **the limit to redemption** if you can ever forgive yourself for what you've done."

Everyone was now contemplating what Hajime was saying, as they all thought about their past actions and the possibility that one day, they could forgive themselves for them.

"I know that… is going to be really hard to reach. I don't know if any of us really think we can get there right now… but. A few nights ago, … I got glimmer at something special. Something that I want to **hang on to** no matter what."

Sonia blushed to realize what he was talking about.

"But I think that and what Teruteru wrote made me realize something. You just need something to fight for. Something that you want to see listen, taste, smell, experience again! Or maybe even for the first time…"

"So… don't think about the past. Don't think about redemption, or morality or anything like that. Cause you don't need any of it. You just have to ask yourself something… what makes you happy? What do you want to experience? **What are you fighting for**?"

"What I'm fighting for? I… I'm…" Akane couldn't answer, she was so unsure of herself now. Fuyuhiko noticing this spoke up first.

"I'm fighting for Peko… I mean, obviously. Not like I talk about her all the time or anything, huh." Fuyuhiko chuckled.

Sonia was next to speak, she squeezed Akane's hand and gave her a smile that was so warm and sweet Akane felt her tension melt away. "I… I want to see our class reunited! I want us to all do fun things together again!"

Kazuichi flicked his nose with his thumb while showing a cocky grin. "I'm going to stop all the Monokuma's in the world. That's what I want to do!"

Everyone looked at Yuki next. He thought for a moment before replying. "I'm fighting for myself… I know that sounds selfish, but… I've never had a life of my own like this before. So, I'm not going to give it up."

Finally, everyone stared at Hajime expectedly. He gulped, trying to find the best way to articulate the way he was feeling.

"Useless, normal, boring… lonely. That's probably the way I would have described my life up until I came to Hope's Peak. I know that this has been an awful experience for all of us. I've never felt so many emotions in the course of these last few days… but… fuck. Anything is better than the depressing void I was living in. For the first time ever… I have friends, I have goals, ambitions, dreams, feelings that I never thought I would feel. That's what I want to hold onto…

**The glimmers of hope in this hopeless situation**."

Hajime rubbed Akane's shoulder. "So, what about you?"

Hearing everyone talk about their ambitions. Why they're still going, it made Akane realize. The answer she was looking for was obvious, she was surprised she didn't see it sooner.

"Nekomaru…" Akane muttered.

"What?" Hajime replied, no one could hear what she was saying with her hands covering her face.

"NEKOMARU NIDAI! I want to thank him for saving me! I want to see him again!" Akane yelled into the sky with unwavering determination. She jumped up and flexed her arms. "No more sitting on my ass and doing nothing! I may still be coming to terms with everything that I've done but… whenever I think of Nekomaru being here with us, fighting this shit together… it makes me feel so much better, so much stronger! I'm not going to die here! I'm getting **off this island**, with Nekomaru!"

'Off this island…' A thought crossed Hajime's mind.

Sonia clasped her hands together in front of her, eyes sparkling at the impressive rebound Akane managed.

"Heh, depressing shit like this doesn't suit you." Fuyuhiko smiled towards Akane. "Good to have you back."

"Thanks! I'm sorry about that…" Akane picked at her ear while speaking. "Honestly, I've been trying to ignore everything the best I could, but... I was given a grim reminder of what happened, and I couldn't handle it. I… I've done terrible things. But I guess that's old news, huh. We all have…"

Everyone let out a huff of exasperation.

"Just talk to someone if you get down like this again, okay?" Hajime patted Akane on the shoulder.

"Right! Now to deal with the problem ahead… and it's an unpleasant one…"

"The body…" Fuyuhiko bit at his nails, thinking.

"Oh, aren't we just going to bury him?" Yuki asked.

"Nothing to dig with." Fuyuhiko shrugged. "And Hajime pointed out it might be kind of inappropriate to cremate him."

"Oh, why's that? We have plenty of wood, isn't that the best option?" Yuki rubbed at his chin.

"Oh… that's right! You were dead when Teruteru got executed. Yeah, he got dropped in a volcano so…" Kazuichi breathed in air through gritted teeth.

Yuki gasped and covered his mouth. "Fuck me…"

"I want to have a proper funeral for our friend! What are we going to do?" Sonia inquired.

"Actually…" Hajime looked toward the ocean Teruteru was staring at before nodding to himself in confirmation. "Something Akane said gave me an idea…"

* * *

With a huff and a puff, Hajime sat down next to Sonia, watching as the ocean claimed their friend for its own. He held her hand and squeezed it.

"You okay?"

Sonia smiled at Hajime with sadness in her eyes. "Mhmm."

The six of them sat on the beach together watching Teruteru's corpse drift out to sea. Hajime didn't want Teruteru's last place to be this island, so they decided to let him go.

"I'll miss him." Kazuichi suddenly spoke up. "I mean he was really creepy… but he was alright."

Hajime couldn't help but chuckle at his brutal honesty.

They all sat there in silent contemplation, remembering their friend. Hajime hoped that Teruteru was happy with his decision. Hajime wasn't, but, in the end… it wasn't up to him.

"He was sweet." Sonia leaned her head on Hajime's shoulder and breathed in deeply. "He did have his perverted side, yes, but… I remember whenever I was having a bad day. He would try to make me smile. He was kind."

…

"I'll miss his meals." Said Akane.

…

"He was annoying as hell but… yeah alright, he had his moments. I'll admit it." Fuyuhiko sighed.

…

"As perverted as he was, I never found his comments to come from a place of ill-will. I don't believe he ever intended to hurt anyone." Yuki commented.

…

"Can you… tell me a bit about him?" Hajime asked. "I never really got to know him all that well. What was he like back at Hope's Peak?"

Everyone thought for a little while considering Hajime's request when suddenly he heard Sonia giggling to herself. It got louder and louder until she was rolling on the floor, laughing, covering her face with her hands. Everyone looked at her with curiosity, wondering what she was laughing about.

Eventually, Sonia was able to stifle her laughter for long enough to speak. "As embarrassing as it was… does anything come to mind when I say 'aphrodisiacs'?"

Unanimously everyone let out a massive grown. Fuyuhiko flicked sand in her direction, annoyed that she brought it up.

This piqued Hajime's curiosity. "Aphrodisiacs? Okay, there is a story here, and I have to hear it!" Hajime yelled.

"I mean technically it was Hiyoko that poisoned us." Yuki shrugged.

"Yeah, but he brought the shit to our class in the first place!" Kazuichi retorted.

"POISONED!?" Hajime uttered in disbelief. "What the hell happened?"

"OH SHIT! Remember, Chiaki uppercut Teruteru to the moon. That was hilarious!" Fuyuhiko uppercut the air in front of him and laughed.

"CHIAKI PUNCHED TERUTERU!?" Hajime realized that he had a lot of stuff to catch up on.

Everyone burst into laughter, hearing Hajime's understandable confusion. But… the happy atmosphere dissipated as it dawned on everyone, that two people they shared those times with are gone now.

Everyone relaxed back into their previous sitting positions staring back out over the ocean. Letting the reality of their friend's death dawn on them.

…

"So…" Fuyuhiko muttered in a somewhat depressed demeanour. "What now? It's what… around ten or eleven in the morning?"

Sonia and Hajime exchanged looks; Sonia looked at him with an aura of trepidation. She squeezed his arm and directed him with her eyes to look towards the horizon.

Out there, far… almost to far to see, but Hajime could just make it out. Dark, grey clouds.

The storm was coming.

Hajime looked back to Sonia and nodded with an air of dysphoria. Having a grim reminder of what's to come.

"Mahiru." Sonia solemnly stated.

"Wait!" Yuki got up and stood in front of the group. "Teruteru just committed suicide, and you already want to wake up another person!? We're literally at the guys make-shift funeral!"

"No…" Fuyuhiko interrupted his ranting. "She's right…"

"Yeah, I don't know about this either." Akane got up and stood next to Yuki. "I mean, we need some time to recuperate or whatever!"

"We don't have time… look behind you." Hajime sighed. "The storm is on its way…"

Yuki and Akane stared upon the greying clouds in disbelief. "Oh no… already?" Yuki muttered.

"We need as many people awake as we can manage." Fuyuhiko lay down in the sand, letting it flow around his fingers. "I know it sucks… but even having one more person alive and able to fight could make the difference, you know?"

"Fuck…" Kazuichi pulled his beanie over his face. "You really think we're going to be attacked!?"

"At some point… yeah, I do." Fuyuhiko rolled over to his side, facing away from everyone.

"Then let's get Nekomaru up right now! He's probably the best fighter here!" Akane stomped her feet, and argued but, Fuyuhiko, Sonia and Hajime all shook their heads.

"I hate to break this to you Akane… but it's not going to come down to a fist fight. Otherwise, I'd agree with you. They will have weapons. I wouldn't be surprised if they had guns. No offence but Nekomaru would be as useless as the rest of us against a rifle."

"But… but!" Akane stammered.

"I know how you feel Akane…" Hajime forced a smile. "I would feel safer with him awake too, but… if we start messing with the order of waking people up, then someone might get hurt… and currently, Mahiru is in the most danger. **She has to be next**."

Akane gritted her teeth in anger and frustration. "Then what if we wake them up at the same time!?"

Yuki collapsed onto the ground in the middle of their conversation, lying down in the sand with his hand over his eyes. "It's risky… I mean remember what a handful I was when you guys woke me up? We need to make sure they get the proper attention they need, right?" Yuki uncovered his eyes for a moment to get confirmation from Hajime and Sonia, who nodded in reply.

"It may be possible that we can wake up more than one when we have more people, but for now. I believe it would be in our best interest to limit it to one person at a time." Sonia said.

"Fu… But… I mean…" Akane tripped on her words. Not sure what to say, they were making a logical argument, but it just didn't feel right to her.

"No matter what we must take risks Akane." Hajime shook his head. "We're just trying to minimize them."

Akane kicked at the sand under her feet. "Does everyone feel this way?"

No one answered, which was the closest thing Akane was going to get to a yes. They didn't like it either, but it's what was right.

"Fine." Akane sat back down with a huff.

…

…

"I mean hey… It'll be nice to have Koizumi back around!" Suddenly Kazuichi spoke up in an enthusiastic tone, doing his best to lift everyone's spirits.

Sonia noticed his attempt and admired his attitude. "You are right, Kazuichi!" Sonia jumped up with enthusiasm trying to cheer up the gloomy atmosphere. "I am sure she would be disappointed in us for mopping around when there is work to be done!"

"_Jeez, you all need to get a hold of yourselves!" _Once again Yuki impersonated another classmate, this time Mahiru.

Everyone looked in his direction, baffled at his ability.

"You can do the girls, too!" Kazuichi yelled in disbelief.

"Are you able to impersonate all of us?" Asked Hajime.

"_Are you able to impersonate all of us?"_ Yuki repeated what Hajime said in his voice. It was like hearing an echo.

Hajime got up and put his arms in the air and started walking away. "NOPE! NOPE! It's too weird! I'm out!"

Yuki got up and put his arms in the air as well, walking in the opposite direction. _"NOPE! NOPE! It's too weird! I'm out!"_

Everyone gasped in awe at Yuki's spot-on impersonation, before laughing and cheering.

Hajime turned around looking at Yuki with utter disbelief, sure he was the ultimate imposter, but it was still creepy to hear his voice coming from another person.

But he wasn't done yet, a wicked smile contorted Yuki's face as he squinted at Hajime.

"Oh Sonia Nevermind, how I yearn for you!" While still 'impersonating' Hajime, Yuki kneeled on one leg next to Sonia. Being as comical and campy as possible, he placed one hand on his forehead and took Sonia's in the other. "Sonia Nevermind! How simply uttering your name makes my heart race!"

"What the fuck!" Hajime screamed, "I don't speak like that!"

"Na, you totally do dude." Fuyuhiko began laughing his ass off watching Yuki's act.

"Your smile is more beautiful than a morning frost in June…"

"OH MY!" Sonia gasped.

"Since when am I, Shakespeare?!"

"Sonia, I must take you now, on this very beach! My loins yearn for you!" Yuki proposed.

"Hajime! I never thought you would be so forward!" Sonia muttered under her breath, embarrassed.

"What!? Don't take him seriously!"

…

The group continued to laugh and joke around on the beach for a little while. While it was technically meant to be Teruteru's funeral, it felt oddly fitting. Like that's what he would have wanted. Eventually, though, Yuki got tired of taking requests for impersonations, and everyone grew hungry. So, they all headed towards the hotel for breakfast.

But before that Hajime needed closure on something, he split off from the group and headed to his cabin.

* * *

_Dear Teruteru_

_I can't approve of what you did._

_I know you were hurt, and scared, but your actions were selfish none the less._

_We miss you._

_And whenever anyone wakes up now, we will have to tell them that you took your own life._

_I wish things could have been different._

_I wish you didn't give up._

_But with all that said…_

_I understand._

_I still don't approve, but… I understand the reasoning you gave._

_I hope we get the chance to prove there is no limit to redemption._

_I hope you feel you made the right decision._

_I hope you can find peace._

_And although I am angry and hurt. I do want you to know something…_

_We will carry on your memory._

_We each had different memories we enjoyed with you._

_You will be remembered as a momma's boy, a pervert and a chief._

_Not anything else._

_I promise._

_Say hi to Chiaki for me and try to be a little less creepy._

_Goodbye Teruteru._

_I wish I could have gotten to know you better._

_Your friend – _

_Hajime Hinata._


	11. A Convenient Truth

It was colder.

Hajime realized his hands were shaking ever so slightly as he gripped the stainless-steel spoon. He placed his left hand against the edge of the hot bowl, helping to warm himself up.

He looked to his right from where he was sitting out of the restaurant and towards the ocean. The dark clouds were drawing closer, it had been less than an hour, but they had already made significant progress.

He looked back down to his bowl of black beans with little appetite.

"I'm already sick of this…" Hajime twirled his spoon mixing up the black sludge.

"If only we had someone who could cook…" Fuyuhiko grunted before taking another bite.

"Oh, come on… Now I'm sad again…" Akane sighed.

"Sorry…"

Hajime hated this atmosphere. He had experienced it so many times. Everyone meeting up to have breakfast the morning after someone's death. Although in this instance, it was only a few hours ago. He could feel the anxiety swell up and poke his insides.

"Yeah…" Hajime picked up his bowl and headed for the kitchen. "I'm really not hungry."

"Don't throw it out, limited food and all that." Kazuichi stretched out his arms and legs at the table, seemingly unbothered by everyone's gloom.

"I know." Hajime went to grab a plate from the cupboard to cover his bowl with, but he realized there were none there. He looked atop the bench to see a pile of dirty dishes that had been steadily building over the last few days.

"Anyone want to clean the dishes?" Hajime yelled towards the group.

Everyone looked at each other with hesitation apart from Sonia who leapt at the opportunity.

"Oh, yes! Now is the time I can finally do the commoner activity known as 'dishes'! I shall get wet and slippery!"

Everyone looked toward Kazuichi expectedly, ready for the inevitable sly comment at Sonia's remark. Kazuichi simply lifted his arms in the air with a shrug.

"Yeah okay, that's what she said and all that. But I mean honestly, Sonia's just too easy when it comes to that kind of thing."

"I am easy!?" Sonia shouted in baffled confusion.

Kazuichi held his arms out with his palms facing each other, pointing at Sonia. "See!"

"Yeah okay point taken…" Fuyuhiko scratched at his chin and smiled.

"Sonia, we're going to go wake up Mahiru after breakfast, right? Maybe now's not the best time." Hajime sighed as he grabbed a dirty plate from the pile and covered his bowl with it before placing it in the fridge.

"I suppose you are right…" Sonia looked toward the ground dejected, rubbing her shoulder.

"I gotta fix that FUCKING alarm! So, I can't at the moment." Kazuichi foamed at the mouth while speaking.

"You okay?" Yuki asked concerned at Kazuichi now stabbing his fork into his food.

"Oh, I just have to fix something with no tools, so I'm grrrreeeaaatttt!" Kazuichi ground his teeth together.

Yuki cringed at Kazuichi's evident frustration; "Hey… why don't I help you out? I mean I don't know a lot about machines, but an extra set of hands should be something, right?"

Kazuichi continued to stab his fork into the food.

"I will take that as a yes…"

Akane and Fuyuhiko looked at each other and sighed. Fuyuhiko raised his hand alongside Akane.

"We got it…"

"Oh, really? Thanks." Hajime exited the kitchen while drying his hands with a towel. "Sonia, you almost ready to go?"

"Yes, I am! It is time Mahiru stops pressing the snooze button!" Sonia spun around - off her seat and toward the kitchen.

"Wait! Before everyone goes, I need to…" Kazuichi hesitated, biting at his nails. "Actually, don't worry, it can wait. I need to make sure I'm right first."

"Everything okay?" Akane asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Let's go Yuki." Kazuichi shuffled down the stairs scratching at his head with visible frustration. Yuki nodded at everyone before leaving also.

"The fuck got his panties in a twist?" Fuyuhiko scoffed.

Hajime was also concerned but figured now wasn't the time to worry, he could always talk to him later. He felt Sonia press against his arm and smile.

"Shall we go?" Sonia asked.

"Yeah, catch you guys later!" Hajime and Sonia waved goodbye as they left.

Fuyuhiko and Akane were left in awkward silence, staring at each other.

"Should we get started?" Akane sighed.

Fuyuhiko nodded with a sigh as he got up and headed towards the kitchen.

* * *

**Hajime and Sonia**

"You nervous?"

Sonia stared down at Mahiru's pod. Any second now, her eyes would open, and she would be back.

Sonia bit at her bottom lip, "terrified."

"We won't let what happened to Teruteru happen again." Hajime stared down at the pod with a confident assurance, which helped calm Sonia's nerves slightly.

Sonia caressed the top of the pod and whispered; "please come back to us."

* * *

"The fact that your sister was killed is terrible... It's unfortunate...but... You shouldn't have killed that girl! You had no right do to that! Nobody has the right to judge others for their crimes! Revenge...is just wrong!"

'He killed someone… how could he do that? She may have killed his sister but still…'

"And- "

**Black.**

'What just happened? Where am I?'

Mahiru panicked trying to look around, but she couldn't move her eyes, she couldn't move her head. She didn't have a head! She didn't have a body, there was nothing in this place; nothing surrounded her, an endless void in all directions.

She tried to think back at how she suddenly ended up here. She was arguing with Fuyuhiko and then… nothing.

None of this made sense, she went to scream but had no mouth. She went to breathe but had no lungs. She was just a ball of thought, endlessly drifting nowhere. She tried to cry but had no eyes.

Her mind was beginning to break, cracks starting to form in her consciousness as it struggled to make sense of her environment. The more it tried to justify its existence in this void, the more cracks formed.

Slowly…

Ever so slowly, she felt… something.

Wet hair stuck to her neck.

A drop of sweat careening down her leg.

A slight aching in her elbow.

A dry throat.

The scent of the ocean.

Finally, she realized, she felt herself again. She could see a cacophony of colours dancing in the back of her eyelids. She could open them and find out where she was, what happened, but a part of her screamed not to. To keep her eyes closed and never open them.

That part of herself refused to explain it's reasoning though as if it was an irrational fear.

Mahiru ignored it, tossing its suggestion aside as nothing more than being nervous.

She would soon come to realize… **she should have listened.**

…

Carefully and slowly, Mahiru parted her eyelids, repeatedly blinking as her eyes struggled to adjust to the limited light filtering through some kind of glass in front of her.

She abruptly gasped for air as she realized she didn't have any air in her lungs. She continued to breathe in and out frantically as if she had been holding her breath.

Now that she felt her person again and was breathing questions started to build up in her mind.

One she focused on though was simple; 'where am I?'

Once again, **she thought back**, trying to make sense of what had happened. Trying to find answers for her immediate surroundings.

As her consciousness reached out for those memories, it was interrupted by a tapping on the glass in front of her.

It was… a person.

No, it was two.

She could make out two shadowy figures on the other side of the glass as the sun backlit them.

Mahiru squinted, trying to focus on the limited details of their faces she could make out.

Finally, she realized who they were.

'Hajime and Sonia? What are they doing here?'

She could see Sonia's delighted smile as she tapped at the glass and waved. Mahiru couldn't help but smile back at how happy she seemed to be seeing her.

'But why is she so happy to see me?'

Mahiru's mind started to race to try to find an answer to that question. But before it could begin forming one, she looked down to see her nude body. It was bruised, sickly, scarred and malnourished. She went to scream, but her voice box fought against her, letting only a few crackles of sound leave her throat.

'W-what happened to me!?'

The glass of the pod lifted. To reveal the warm smiling faces of the two individuals she recognized.

Hajime crouched down to her level and whispered, "Hey, Mahiru. Welcome back."

'Welcome back? Welcome back from what?' Mahiru went to sit up. As she did, she noticed Hajime was averting his gaze away from her.

She strained her back, sitting up. She could feel her spine poking at her skin.

Mahiru tried to form a sentence, but nothing but a raspy moan left her mouth. Sonia leaned down and handed her a blue gown with white polka dots. "It is alright. Hajime and I struggled to speak for some time as well."

As she felt the cloth of the gown in her hand, she realized why Hajime was averting his gaze. She remembered; she was naked! She went to lift her arm to hit Hajime on the shoulder but felt her muscles strained even to lift her arm.

"w…w..ot…" Mahiru managed to murmur.

"I know you are disoriented right now. But please know we are here for you. We always will be." Sonia grinned and rubbed Mahiru's forearm before helping her into the gown.

"Can you stand?" Hajime asked as he helped her out of the pod and onto the ground. She collapsed to the floor without the slightest resistance. "Oh man… you got it bad."

'Got 'it' bad?' Mahiru struggled to think. Her thoughts were hazy and mixed up.

"Hajime, the room with the beds next door. Let us take her there."

"Good idea."

Her entire body felt weak, as if she was struggling just to stay alive. She couldn't keep a train of thought going. It was as if her mind was trying to forget something, trying to block her conscious from something. She just couldn't figure out what.

"I…" Her voice just managed a syllable but nothing more.

"Upsy-daisy!" She felt Hajime's arms wrap around the bends of her knees and underneath her shoulders.

…

Mahiru found herself in a room with beds and a bay window.

As Hajime placed her down into a bed, she could feel her entire body ache. She melted into the soft fabric as Sonia tucked her in.

Mahiru realized she was starting to feel tired as the temptation of sleep as an escape from this confusion became more and more alluring. She knew, though, she couldn't go to sleep yet, she wanted answers.

Hajime rustled around in a backpack he was holding and handed her a bottle of water. She could feel the dryness of the back of her throat and realized just how thirsty she was. So, without hesitation, she started chugging it down. Almost half the bottle was gone before Mahiru wiped the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand.

Her dry throat now felt a little better, and she finally felt ready to speak, albeit in a whisper.

"W-what's going on?" Mahiru managed to stutter.

Sonia and Hajime both sat on opposing corners of her bed with heavy shoulders. She saw them briefly exchange a glance, before looking back toward her expectantly.

'Are they expecting me to know the answer that question? How could I possibly!?'

"I don't understand…" Mahiru whimpered. She was so sick of this feeling of bewilderment.

"Mahiru…" Sonia kneeled next to her and carefully placed Mahiru's left hand in hers. "It is impossible to express what we have done in a positive manner… so I am going to say something, and then you should understand."

Mahiru's entire body tensed and her head ached. That small part of her screamed again. To run, run as far away as she could and never look back. But…

Mahiru was a photographer, she had an insatiable curiosity just like her mother. Her mother had seen war and violence, yet she continued to take photos.

'I've got to be brave like her!'

Even though she felt her shoulders shaking and this unbelievable fear contort inside of her she knew…

'I have to know.'

"Yes?"

Sonia's face darkened as she looked toward the ground and spoke.

…

…

…

One word.

That's all it took.

Like a key unlocking the floodgates, memories crashed into her mind, memories she couldn't even begin to comprehend the cruelty and venomosity of.

**Suffering.**

**Pain.**

**Death.**

Nothing but memories of those three things sored around in Mahiru's mind. All of these memories that were so impossibly awful that Mahiru couldn't understand why she had them in her head in the first place.

And all these memories were unlocked with the uttering of one mere word.

_**Despair.**_

**-8 Students Remain-**

* * *

**Kazuichi & Yuki**

"**ONE**

**TWO**

**THREE**

**HIT IT!"**

Yuki flipped a massive switch on the wall as a bunch of machinery sparked to life. They both froze listening carefully over the churning of gears.

They could hear it.

A loud siren was going off, one that rose in pitch before descending.

"FUCK YES! I am a goddamn genius! Yesyesyesyesyesyes… YESSSSSS!" Kazuichi jumped up and down raising his fist in the air triumphantly, before going over to a panel and pressing a couple buttons; which switched the alarm off.

"Incredible work Kazuichi! You never fail to impress!" Yuki cheered.

"Thanks, man! Having you around was a big help!" Kazuichi slung his arm around Yuki and gave him a massive grin. "Now we just have to make sure everything is up and running across the whole island."

"Oh, no does that mean what I think it means…" Yuki shuddered.

"More walking? You bet!" Kazuichi smirked before pushing him out the door.

* * *

**Hajime, Sonia & Mahiru**

"In the simulation, you met up with Fuyuhiko to discuss Monokuma's motive and while you were arguing- "

"Stop."

Mahiru was staring forward with an unblinking expression. Motionless.

"It doesn't matter, I don't care. Just tell me the truth. These memories… Are they real?"

…

Neither Hajime nor Sonia had the guts to answer her question. Their absence of an answer, however, was a response in itself.

"No…"

"Mahiru…" Sonia squeezed her hand tightly between hers. "I know it's difficult… I know it's..."

"That's not me! That isn't… I would never… ever!" Her voice began to crack, and tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Mahiru…" Hajime sighed under his breath.

"No, you have it wrong! … I didn't I…"

Both Hajime and Sonia stared back with sympathy.

"I didn't… stop… stop looking at me like that…" Mahiru's mind couldn't comprehend that she would be capable of such vile acts. She was so convinced of this that she simply dismissed them as delusions. Dreams. False memories.

Mahiru started taking comfort in this fantasy world as she separated herself further and further from reality.

'I'm like this for another reason.

I had a bad dream is all.

I'll go home soon and forget any of this ever happened.

Everyone I love is still alive.

Everything is going to be okay.

I'm just… misremembering. That's all.'

Like an alarm clock breaking a person out of their slumber, an air siren could be heard echoing throughout the building. It was loud and obnoxious as it screamed at imminent danger, an imminent threat. Alongside harrowing screams and cries, Mahiru realized she had heard it before. Many times, in fact. Warning anyone nearby not of an incoming storm or natural disaster, but of a person. A terrorist, a psychopath, a monster so dangerous that it warranted alarming everyone in its proximity.

This sound was so engraved in her head that it was casual. Just a regular part of her day, like a school bell or the sound of passing cars. While she wished to deny her reality, there was no denying that sound. How many times she had heard it, how many times she warranted it.

**Warning that Mahiru Koizumi an ultimate despair was approaching.**

The alarm promptly stopped after only a few seconds.

Her face must have displayed her realization as Sonia gripped her hand tighter. "It is alright. You are alright."

She felt Sonia's hands in hers. They were warm and slightly sweaty, most likely from the hot climate around them. But as Mahiru looked up to face her friend she saw someone… **different**. It was no longer the optimistic, naive princess she had come to know but now it was the genocidal maniac who she accompanied in her slaughter of millions.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" In a fit of pure horror, Mahiru palmed Sonia's face away and dove off the bed. She fell onto her right shoulder with a hard thump.

"AHH!" Sonia shouted in pain at suddenly taking a blow to the face as she fell backwards from where she was kneeling.

In a fit of desperation, Mahiru started to drag herself towards the door of the room to get away.

"Sonia! Mahiru!" Hajime panicked unsure of who to do. Sonia rubbed her cheekbone from where she was hit in a daze, but when she realized what was happening, she ran around the bed and dived on top of Mahiru.

"Get off me! Get the hell away from me! HELP ME! SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME!" Mahiru cried out in desperation.

"Mahiru! It is us! We are your friends; it is I, Sonia!"

"No, you're not! No! NO! Get away from me! You'll kill me too!" Mahiru resisted Sonia's grasp desperately trying to fight her off. Sonia had her pinned down underneath her as she tried to stop her from crawling away.

"Mahiru!" Hajime cried. "Come on, it's us! We won't hurt you!" Hajime ran in front of her and lay down onto his belly, doing his best to maintain eye contact.

"Hey, remember me! Unreliable Hajime, we spent time together on the island."

"NO! NO!" Mahiru shook her head furiously.

"Look at me." Hajime grabbed Mahiru's chin to stop her from flailing around and made her face him. "You are Mahiru Koizumi, I am Hajime Hinata, and that is your friend Sonia Nevermind. We promise… no one is going to hurt you. We care about you, we're your friends. We want to help. Please."

"I…" Tears rolled down Mahiru's cheeks as she was finally starting to make sense of their awful reality. "Hajime, please no… please… please tell me I'm wrong! That this is all some messed up joke. Please tell me that my family is still alive, that my friends are still alive… that… that I'm still a good person. Please… please… please… ahhhhhhh…"

Mahiru began sobbing into the carpet and relaxed her entire body. Sonia climbed off of her and helped her sit up before Mahiru wrapped her arms around Hajime's waist and cried into his stomach and chest.

Hajime was a little shocked at the sudden interaction but was happy Mahiru was finally coming to accept the situation. He patted the top of her head and ran his fingers through her tangled hair.

"I'm so sorry Mahiru, please know, we're all here for you."

Mahiru continued to weep into Hajime's shirt with unbridled sadness.

* * *

**Fuyuhiko & Akane**

"You alright?"

"…"

"…"

"You think she'll hate me?"

"Maybe."

"…"

"…"

"What should I do?"

"I don't know."

Akane and Fuyuhiko washed and dried the stack of dishes together anxiously, waiting for the inevitable confrontation between Fuyuhiko and Mahiru.

Fuyuhiko felt the warm soapy water beneath his hands, noticing how they started to wrinkle.

"_**You're a killer!"**_

"_**You're responsible for my death!"**_

"_**I hate you! I'll never forgive you!"**_

Fuyuhiko ran through different scenarios in his head of how the interaction would go. All of them ended poorly. He could feel his heart swell with guilt and trepidation.

"Hey, Fuyuhiko." Akane suddenly spoke up, breaking Fuyuhiko out of his downhill train of thought. She carefully dried the cutlery she was holding until she could see her reflection in the metal. "I honestly don't know Mahiru super well, I mean neither of us do, right?"

Fuyuhiko nodded in confirmation.

"So, I don't really have any advice to give or guesses on how she'll react. Sorry."

Fuyuhiko bit at his bottom lip and started brushing a plate under the water with ferocity and frustration.

"But I like you. So do the others. I mean, since when were you a people pleaser? Who cares what one person thinks of you?"

Fuyuhiko paused.

"I appreciate the thought but honestly… the problem isn't whether or not she hates me… it's…"

Akane looked toward him, curiously, "what?"

"She was right."

"Huh!?"

"Actually…" Fuyuhiko ran his hand over his head and down the back of his neck with visible anxiety. "Don't worry about it…"

Akane sighed as she picked up another dish off the rack and began drying it. She's never been good at cheering people up, and she didn't know what to do here. The best thing she could come up with was to change topics.

"You know… I heard from Kazuichi that you guys used to talk about me in the locker room. That true?"

"Huh!? What!? I umm…" Fuyuhiko panicked pretending to be solely focused on the task at hand.

"Holy shit! It is true! You're all massive perverts! PERVERT PERVERT PERVERT!" Akane rammed her index finger into Fuyuhiko's cheek and twisted it left and right in jest.

"Fucking stop!" Fuyuhiko snapped, slapping her finger away. "Yeah okay, maybe on occasion we talked about some of the girls in our class, but what do you expect we were horny fucking teenagers."

Akane laughed uproariously, loving Fuyuhiko's evident discomfort.

"I mean hey… it's not like we didn't talk about the boys now and then." Akane admitted.

Fuyuhiko chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, clearly more relaxed than he was before.

"Oh yeah. Guess you were all horny teenagers as well." Fuyuhiko elbowed Akane in the ribs lightly.

Akane continued to laugh, "guess we're all perverts then!"

"Guess so!" Fuyuhiko agreed.

They both started to calm down as they continued washing the now ever decreasing stack of dishes. A small silence followed before Fuyuhiko spoke up.

"You know Akane, I… I'm glad we became friends."

Akane was about to say something before stopping herself. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

"We never really talked that much back in high school, huh?"

"Na…"

"You uh… you're actually a pretty cool guy if I'm being totally honest." Akane blushed slightly, Fuyuhiko blushed even more so.

"I uh… thanks… you too."

They both continued to wash the dishes in silence for a few minutes with visible tension now between them.

"Who was talked about the most?" Akane squinted at Fuyuhiko with scepticism.

"W-what!?" Fuyuhiko stammered at the sudden inquiry.

"You heard me! Which of us did you guys talk most about in the locker room, anything good I would want to hear!?" Akane chuckled.

Fuyuhiko huffed, "I ain't no snitch!"

Akane groaned with audible disdain before thinking up a plan.

"Well, you know… I remember one-time Peko talked about you and well…"

Although Fuyuhiko was trying to hide it, it was clear he was interested in what she was saying.

"Oh, never mind…."

"Heh." Fuyuhiko shook his head. "You want to play it like that, huh? Trying to bribe me?"

"Maybe… did it work?"

Fuyuhiko faced Akane and nodded approvingly. "Alright, alright. You're on."

They both smiled with devilish grins as they shook hands.

* * *

**Hajime, Sonia & Mahiru**

After Mahiru had finally started settling down, they helped her back into the bed. A long silence followed as Mahiru sat up against the headboard, lamenting over everything that's happened.

As she did Hajime couldn't help but notice Mahiru's new appearance. Among the typical traits they all seemed to share; such as being pale, gauntly, sickly, with dark rings surrounding their eyes. She had long hair that reached just past her shoulders and covered the edges of her face. A nose ring that she promptly took out and threw across the room as well as plenty of scars across her body.

Eventually, she finally looked up and faced Hajime and Sonia with a sad smile.

"I'm glad you guys are okay… I'm sorry I freaked out earlier."

"Mahiru!" Sonia cried as she rose from the bed and hugged her. "I am so happy to have you back!" Sonia kissed her cheeks repeatedly before putting her head back over her shoulder. Mahiru carefully wrapped her hand around Sonia's back and rested her head on Sonia's shoulder, whispering, "sorry I hit you…" Sonia sighed with relief and kissed her on the cheek again.

After a few moments, Sonia finally let Mahiru go and relaxed back down on the bed.

Mahiru eyed Hajime up and down with a slight air of confusion visible on her face.

"So, you're Kamukura?"

"Ah, yeah… I guess." Hajime scratched at his head. "I know everything is confusing right now but… Sonia and I will answer any questions you have."

Hajime and Sonia decided to adjust their method when waking someone up. Instead of dumping them with a load of information, they would let them hear it at their own pace. Mahiru thought for a few moments, biting at her long nails.

"What's going to happen to us? Are we going to prison?"

Hajime and Sonia looked at each other with surprise. Neither of them expected a question like that to be her first.

"I don't think prisons really exist anymore, he heh." Hajime tried to lighten the mood with dark humour, but it clearly didn't work.

Mahiru shook her head in reply, "no I mean… how are we being punished?"

"Punished?" Sonia asked inquisitively.

Mahiru replied with a befuddled expression.

"Are we being put to death then?" The corners of her eyes started to fill with tears again.

"Mahiru!" Hajime shouted. "No one is being put to death. What happened as despair, it wasn't our fault!"

"How could you possibly say that! We hurt so many people! We deserve whatever punishments the future foundation put us through!"

"No, we don't we were brainwashed! I know it… doesn't feel that way but-"

"Brainwashed? Maybe but… it was still us."

Both Hajime and Sonia almost recoiled at that thought.

"What are you talking about Mahiru! We had no control over ourselves as despair, I… I wish I did not do the things I did." Sonia retorted.

Mahiru didn't reply, looking down at the palms of her hands. It was a strange experience looking at your own hands yet barely being able to recognize them.

Mahiru considered what Sonia was saying but could not accept it. She was not sure if "brainwashed" was an accurate description of how she felt during despair. She considered her feelings and thought that it was more accurate to say that she lost all inhibitions, that the darkness she was overcome with during despair was in some way inside her the whole time. It was just unleashed.

Mahiru closed her hands into fists, noticing her swollen and bruised knuckles. Mahiru steeled her resolve and looked Sonia directly in the eyes while speaking.

"No. We deserve to be punished. We should be punished. We are terrible people, **all** of us."

Hajime noticed the interaction between the two. He watched as tears began to swell in the corners of Sonia's eyes as she gritted her teeth and began breathing faster. He realized he should step in.

"Hey w-"

"Hajime, can you please give Mahiru and I the room for a moment?"

Hajime furrowed his brow, confused at the sudden request.

"Please."

Hesitantly, Hajime stood up and began making his way out of the room. "I'll be right outside, okay." Hajime closed the door behind him.

A brooding silence filled the room as they bemoaned over each other's attitudes. Finally, Sonia spoke through gritted teeth.

"Oh, great Mahiru…" Sonia mumbled. "How much suffering must I endure until thou art satisfied?"

"Excuse me?" Mahiru spat.

"Well, apparently you are the judge on my humanity so I would love to know!" Sonia slammed her fists on the bed and stood up. She began pacing around the room while fiddling with a knot of her hair.

"I was with you, Sonia! I saw the things you did!"

"Yes, and they were awful! Do you really think I will ever be able to forgive myself for what I've done?"

"Then, you agree!"

"No, I do not!" Sonia began to yell through her tears of frustration and anger. "Mahiru do you truly think so poorly of me that you believe I would have wanted to destroy my kingdom?"

Mahiru clutched her hands close to her chest. Unsure of how to answer such a difficult question.

"That I enjoyed killing all those people! That I took satisfaction in my parent's deaths? Do you believe I take comfort in knowing that I have disgraced the Nevermind name and destroyed the hard work of all my ancestors?"

"I doubt you do Sonia! But you still did those things! And… and…" Mahiru hesitated, biting at her bottom lip.

"Say it," Sonia said with more hostility Mahiru had ever heard her muster.

"**You should be punished for your actions,"** Mahiru whispered.

Sonia ran forward toward the bed she was lying on. Mahiru flinched thinking Sonia was going to hit her, but instead, she stamped her leg onto the bed and pointed toward her burns.

"IS THIS NOT ENOUGH! THAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH THIS! No? That everyone I love is dead and the world destroyed! How much must I go through Mahiru?! HOW MUCH MUST I SUFFER UNTIL YOU ARE SATISFIED?!"

Mahiru was so frustrated and confused, still coming to terms with her own thoughts, but she had enough of being yelled at and began to fire back.

"You did those things to yourself! We all did… Do you really think because you screwed yourself over that justifies your actions!"

"Justified!? Do you believe there is any justice in this world where some innocent teenagers are forced to do those things!?"

Mahiru began to yell back, although her voice was gravely and croaked as she did so as her voice box struggled to keep up. "News flash princess! The world is an unfair and shitty place!"

"How!? How can you be so insensitive!?"

Mahiru counted with her fingers listing off everything that she had seen Sonia do. "Murder, genocide, torture, dismemberment! I've seen it all! I was there for almost all your awful and fucked up deeds! Documenting everything! I've seen what all of you have done! We deserve everything that's happened and what's going to happen! We should have all died in the killing game!"

"HOW DARE YOU! You have no idea what we had to go through time and time again! Peko, Ibuki, Hiyoko, Mikan, Gundham, Nekomaru, Nagito, Chiaki… AGAIN! We had to watch all of our friends die! How could you believe we deserve that! Do you think Chiaki deserved that!"

Mahiru's face grew dark as rage and misery boiled inside of her, without thinking about it. Mahiru spoke.

"**Do you think Chiaki deserved her parents being killed? Do you think she would ever forgive you for that?"**

Sonia's anger dissipated as her whole body relaxed. No longer did anger and frustration fill her but hatred as she began to fall victim to the poison of Mahiru's words.

"**If she was here right now… she would hate you."**

…

…

Sonia stopped pacing and stood in front of the foot of Mahiru's bed. Her eyes were distant and sad. Sonia bit at her bottom lip, covering the top half of her face with one of her hands attempting not to show Mahiru any more of her vulnerable side.

"I tried to prevent their deaths…"

"Yeah well…" Mahiru was starting to regret what she said, "you didn't."

A long silence followed.

…

…

…

…

Finally, Sonia no longer had the courtesy to ignore the elephant in the room.

"**You filmed what happened to me, didn't you?"**

"**She… she asked me to."**

"…"

"…"

"**Remember when I begged you for help, but you didn't come?"**

"…"

"**You want to know what I think? Chiaki's parents' blood is on your hands. Not mine."**

"**They were there in the first place because of you."**

**"I tried to save them. What about that, do you not understand?"**

"…"

"…"

"…"

"**It doesn't matter. In the end, we are both terrible people who deserve to be punished."  
**

"**How are you so focused on the concept of justice that you forget to consider others humanity?"**

"**We killed people Sonia. We have to answer for that."**

"**B-R-A-I-N-W-A-S-H-E-D, two syllables, verb, how much must I explain this to you before you understand?"**

"**It doesn't matter. That's what I'm saying."**

"**It does not matter?"**

"**No."**

"**..."**

"…"

"**And even though we have all been through so much, we still deserve more torture. Is that correct?"**

"…"

"…"

"**Yes."**

Sonia simply blinked in Mahiru's direction. There wasn't the slightest bond anymore, their two clashing ideologies severing any ties they once had. Sonia simply walked off without saying a word, leaving Mahiru alone.

Mahiru sunk her entire body into the bed, trying to fight off tears. She turned to her side and fell asleep.

* * *

**Kazuichi & Yuki**

"Come on get up! It's not that much further!" Kazuichi yelled toward the exhausted Yuki, who was lying on the ground panting for air. "Oh jeez…" Kazuichi scratched at the side of his face.

He walked over to Yuki and leaned down, offering him a helping hand. "If we're gonna take a break, let's at least do it in the shade." Yuki smiled at his understanding and accepted his offer.

With a heave, Kazuichi helped Yuki up, and they sat down beneath a nearby tree. After they rested, Kazuichi pulled out the map him and Sonia made.

"Alright, we checked the farm, now we need to look at the dock, then the storage area."

"There's no speaker for the alarm system at the meadow?" Yuki asked.

"No. I mean it's just a field, why bother."

"Yeah, guess you're right." Yuki chuckled. He noticed Kazuichi looking at the map with a strange intensity as he traced over it with his index finger.

"What's up?" Yuki wondered.

Kazuichi didn't react. Being completely absorbed in what he was doing.

"Hey, Kazuichi!" Yuki called out. He still didn't respond.

Yuki sighed and then let out a loud audible gasp. "Woah, Akane's in a bikini!"

"Huh!?" Kazuichi looked around, not seeing anything of the sort. He frowned and looked toward Yuki, who was smirking.

"Listening now?"

"Ah, you got me!" Kazuichi shook his head, giggling to himself.

"You've been acting strange today. What's up?" Yuki patted him on the shoulder.

Kazuichi sighed and pulled down the sides of his face. "Alright, I'll tell you but… it's just a theory, a pretty outlandish one at that."

"A theory?" Yuki cocked his head to the side.

Kazuichi huffed and laid out the map in front of them.

"Okay, so this is the basic gist of the island, right?" Kazuichi circled the island with his index finger, smudging dirt on the edges of it.

"Right."

"Well… look at how this is laid out. It just doesn't make sense."

Yuki examined the map closer, trying to figure out what he meant. Kazuichi noticing he wasn't understanding, began to explain further.

"Alright look. You have the cabins, the lab and the hotel all on the North-East side of the island, yet the dock is south. Wouldn't it make more sense to have those two things closer together?"

"Huh…"

"The coast of the beach stretches across the entire island apart from the meadow… which means they could have easily put the dock closer. Furthermore, the storage area. It's even further north! Without a doubt, that should be closer to the dock."

Yuki rubbed at his chin, now equally entranced by the curiosity of the map. Everything Kazuichi was saying made sense, but the question was…

"Why?"

"Exactly, that's what I was thinking!" Kazuichi's face lit up at Yuki's agreement. "Once I noticed that oddity, I started noticing a bunch of strange things around the island."

"Wait, really? Like what?" Yuki could feel his heart thumping with excitement as the possibility that they were starting to uncover some kind of conspiracy.

"**Have you noticed how none of the doors have locks?"**

"What!?" Yuki shouted, utterly gobsmacked.

"I'm fuck'n serious! Only the cabins have locks, but the barn, hotel, storage area. None of them have any locks. In fact, I looked around all the door handles to see if the locks had been removed. But as far as I can tell, **none of them have ever had any**. You would expect some chipped paint or differences in colour if a lock had been there but nope! Nothing like that!"

"I mean… okay, that's a little weird. But neither of those indicate much. Could just be that the people that designed this place were incompetent."

"If that's the case then shouldn't the lab building have locks then? We were told it was recently built by the future foundation. Sure, we're on an island so security wouldn't usually be a massive issue, but it has a lot of expensive equipment in there. Why wouldn't they invest a few bucks in some locked doors?"

…

…

…

"What the hell!?" Yuki yelled after an extended silence.

"RIGHT!"

"Wait…" Yuki stood up, wiping the sweat off his face and began pacing back and forth, thinking this whole thing through. Any fatigue he once had vanished now enamoured by this mystery.

"Yes, yes…" Kazuichi almost giggled with delight seeing someone becoming just as obsessed as he was with this.

"Naegi told you guys that they renovated this place from what used to be a resort, correct? They said they only added the lab?"

"Yes."

"None of the doors have locks. Apart from the cabins. Which being honest, someone could break into rather easily with a rock to the window."

"Sure."

"But buildings which presumably were here before they arrived like the storage building, the hotel and even the barn don't have, nor expected ever to have had a lock at any point. Correct?"

"Yup."

"Even if the original owners weren't done building this place, they would have at least put a lock on the storage building to keep their stuff safe!"

"Almost certainly, but there isn't even a place for a padlock." Yuki was pacing back and forth quicker and quicker as he began figuring out **the** **lie of the island**. Kazuichi got such a big grin that it went from cheek to cheek. "You figured it out?"

Yuki stopped, with an evident 'Eureka!' expression concreated onto his face with his mouth gaping open. "I think so… but… if that's the case then. What does that mean?"

"Oh, my friend!" Kazuichi stood up brushing lose sand off his lap and slung his arm around Yuki's neck. "There's more!"

"There's more!" Yuki shouted. Before Kazuichi could reply, Yuki started jogging ahead towards their next destination. "Tell me on the way! If what we think is true, then we need to see if the alarm is really working across the island!"

"Right!" Kazuichi jogged after him, with equal determination to figure this whole thing out.

* * *

**Hajime & Mahiru**

_*Squeak*_

Mahiru stirred, hearing a mattress next to hear squeaking. She started drifting back out of consciousness again when she heard the squeaking again. She looked over to see Hajime lying on his side on the bed next to her's while looking at her.

She turned over to face him, clearly annoyed. "Were you watching me sleep?"

She watched Hajime squint his eyes in thought before replying. "More like waiting for you to wake up."

"Still creepy." Mahiru rolled over, facing away from him.

"Sorry. Wasn't my intention." Hajime's voice was sweet and soothing. He didn't sound upset or angry if anything he seemed content. Mahiru could hear Hajime's steady breathing and could feel him staring at her back. She realized he wasn't going to leave anytime soon but didn't care. She just wanted to rest.

"I've been thinking about what you were saying."

Mahiru could feel tears start to form once again, wiping them away with the blanket and covering her head under the covers. "You heard us?"

Hajime continued, ignoring her question. "I think I get it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I've found a summary for your sentiment: Whether or not we were brainwashed or manipulated is irrelevant. In the end, we did those things with our own hands, so we're responsible for our actions. Is that about right?"

Hajime could see her shrug under the covers. He figured that was the closest thing to a "yes" he was going to get. He flipped the pillow he was lying on to its other side, adjusting and fluffing it while doing so. "Okay."

Mahiru wondered what he was trying to do.

"I really missed you. Did you know that? At that point in the simulation, I wasn't that close to Chiaki or Sonia, and I felt alone. Sure, you were kind of annoying and bossy sometimes, but…" Hajime chuckled. "Even now, it just feels so easy to talk to you. Even with your back to me and under a sheet. It's kind of hard to explain… I guess. You're normal? Ah jeez…" Hajime scratched at the side of his face. "That makes it sound like a bad thing, but I mean it in the nicest way possible. Everyone is so…" Hajime struggled for a few moments to find the right word. "Intense? I guess. It can be a little exhausting talking to them sometimes. But I don't know with you… I feel relaxed."

This entire time Mahiru didn't flinch, she didn't say a single word. His words were kind but with everything happening right now, meaningless. She continued to listen, for the sole reason that it would be more effort not to.

"Oh, screw it…" Hajime groaned. "Can I be honest with you Mahiru?" She heard a squeak and felt the mattress shift as Hajime sat down on the edge of her bed.

"What?" Mahiru whispered. She could hear Hajime deep, calm breaths as he sat. She was now wondering what was so vital that it called for so much suspense.

…

"Promise not to tell Sonia what this, okay?" She noticed Hajime get off the bed and heard the door creak close. Now very curious at what was happening, she unwrapped herself from the covers and sat up. To find Hajime leaning against the door handle, holding it closed. He looked toward her with wide eyes, no longer composed like before.

"What's going on?" Mahiru wiped some loose hair from her face, letting her see him easier.

Hajime took a deep breath in and out, readying himself. He marched over to Mahiru's bed and sat back down, bouncing Mahiru up and down somewhat at the sudden shift of weight.

"Mahiru, give me your hand."

Mahiru gave him a sceptical yet equally disgusted look as she rose a cover from around her waist up to her chin. "W-what's the deal!? Now's really not the time to be hitting on me, you creep!"

"No! I'm not…" Hajime facepalmed and forcefully grabbed her wrist. Mahiru was scared and was he was going to do, knowing that she was in no condition to fight him in her current state. Suddenly, she felt Hajime yank her wrist as her hand rush forward and smacked Hajime right in the nose. She could feel the cartilage contort under her knuckles as it strained to stay together.

"FUCK ME! OW!" Hajime coiled over in pain letting go of Mahiru's wrist and rubbing his nose furiously.

"H-hey! What the hell! Why'd you do that!" Mahiru yelled. "A-are you okay!?"

"Dammit! I meant for you to hit my cheek, not my nose! Wow, this hurts!" Hajime filtered air through clenched teeth as he worked through the pain.

"What the hell is wrong with you Hajime?! Have you lost your mind?!" Mahiru let out a begrudge groan. "Let me see."

Mahiru now grabbing onto Hajime's wrists moved his hands from his face to examine his nose. It wasn't bleeding, the only noticeable difference being now a pinkish shade of red. "You're fine! Quit whining! You are a man, right!?"

Hajime couldn't help but giggle at what seemed to be the old Mahiru. She pouted and turned her head away, frustrated with his actions. "So, want to explain to me why you did that, you idiot!"

Hajime sighed, tugging at his nose one last time with his index finger and thumb before placing his hands in his lap. "Why are you asking me to explain? You're the one who hit me." Hajime smirked.

"Excuse me! You're the one who grabbed my hand and rammed it into your face!" Mahiru had a hand on her hip and wagged her finger while speaking. Like she was telling off a child.

Hajime's face darkened slightly, he now took a more neutral tone. "Doesn't matter though… still your hand. You're responsible. Apologize."

"What!? Are you kidding me!? You're the one who **controlled** my hand and-" Mahiru paused mid-sentence, discerning what he was getting at. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "That's not an equivalent for what we were like as despair."

"Why not?"

"It's not that simple…" Mahiru sighed, recognising she was about to get into another argument. She covered her face with her hand, now wanting just to go back to sleep.

"You might be right."

Mahiru paused for a second, making sure she heard him right. She removed her hand that was covering her face and noticed Hajime was hunched over, with his shoulders trembling slightly. His interlocked hands sat on his lap as she saw he was trying to stop his hands from shaking as well. His eyes were wide and teary as if he was on the verge of tears.

"Hajime?" Mahiru spoke without realizing, now seeing how Hajime truly felt. Was he hiding this the whole time? Mahiru wondered.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about this anymore but please… just listen." Hajime's voice was crackly just like hers had been.

"O-okay." Mahiru was concerned for him now.

"We have been saying over and over that we were all brainwashed. Made to do Junko's bidding and spread despair like the plague but… **it doesn't feel that way.** Honestly… I have to wonder just how much of ourselves were in our actions as despair. How much was Junko and how much were our own choices." Hajime paused to look away and compose himself before continuing.

"I… that's what I've been saying…." Mahiru commented.

Hajime now turned back to face her, a tear rolling down his left cheek. He quickly wiped it away with the palm of his hand. "And you might be right."

"Then…" Mahiru grabbed onto her arm now also trying to fight off tears, "what do we do?"

"It can't be. It… just can't," Hajime stuttered.

"What?"

"You agree right, when you hit my face, it was my fault. Because I grabbed your wrist and made you hit me!"

"Yes but…"

Hajime slammed his fist onto the bed, the mattress making a painful squeak. "Then that's the truth. It **HAS** to be the truth. We were operated like puppets by Junko Enoshima, completely and utterly devoid of all influence from our true selves. That's the truth, okay?"

Mahiru wasn't sure how to respond.

"Mahiru, if what we really think is correct then... more people will die," Hajime admitted through gritted teeth.

"What are you talking about?"

Hajime shook his head. "Teruteru… he committed suicide a few hours ago. Shortly before you woke up."

Mahiru let out a small gasp and covered her mouth. "That can't be true! That just…"

"It is! He gave up on life, claiming that he no longer had anything to live for."

Mahiru was still trying to process his death as Hajime continued.

"Not everyone is strong enough to get through this. This… f-fucking hell." Hajime stood up and began yelling, tears starting to fill his eyes. "I can't lose her, okay!"

"Can't lose who?" Mahiru backed closer to the headboard slightly frightened by Hajime's outburst.

"Sonia…" Hajime collapsed to his knees, placing his forehead on the ground in front of him. "I am asking you, no I'm begging you Mahiru. Please don't take her away from me."

Mahiru began to yell back, with as much force as her voice box could muster. "What are you being all dramatic for!? I'm not going to do anything to Sonia!"

"Listen to me…" Hajime raised his forehead from the ground but continued to kneel. "Teruteru said he had nothing to live for… that's why he took his life. Well… I was thinking. What does Sonia have to live for now? Everything she once loved is gone, her people, her kingdom, her family. All of it destroyed by her own hands. If what your saying is true and were partly responsible for our own actions, then…" Hajime gulped. **"I don't think Sonia could live with the guilt."**

Mahiru was silent for a long time, going through a range of emotions - from sad to angry, confused, hurt, frustrated among many more as she considered what Hajime said.

"The only reason she's still going right now is because of the belief that our actions were not our own. That's why she disagreed with your notion so vehemently. Because… it **CANNOT **be true."

Mahiru bit at her bottom lip clearly still not convinced.

"I know… okay. I'm not sure it's true either, I said I'd be honest with you, and I am. But that's… that's the only way we can keep going." Hajime shimmied down the side of the bed, still on his knees so he would be closer. "Look, if we were puppets. If none of our actions were our own. Do you think you might… maybe… be able to live with yourself then?"

"But Hajime…"

"Yes or no."

Mahiru looked toward Hajime's desperate and pleading eyes. She truly did not feel like a puppet while despair, she believed that a part of her was vindictive and cruel. That she is partly responsible but… considering the exact way, Hajime described it. Thinking back to his example of him getting her to hit him, she contemplated if that was the truth… could she live with that?

Mahiru nodded.

"Then it's the truth, okay? I know you don't believe it is, but… it just has to be. Please. For your sake, for my sake, for Sonia's, for all of us. I'm asking you to believe this convenient truth."

As Mahiru heard those words, she felt her sense of justice skew. She wondered if it was a good or bad thing, that by believing Hajime, it made her a bad person? She realized though that she was tired, hurt and scared, and she just didn't care anymore.

She smiled warmly in Hajime's direction feeling the shackles of her conviction finally coming loose.

"Alright. It may be a convenient truth; it may not be the truth… but I'll hope that it is." She held out her hand to shake Hajime's.

She could have sworn she saw Hajime's eyes sparkle just like Sonia's sometimes did. He whacked her hand away and practically leapt on her, hugging her.

"Gah!" Mahiru shouted. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"Thank you, Mahiru… thank you." Hajime whispered through his tears of relief.

"Jeez…" Mahiru relented, wrapping her arms around him and patting him on the back. To her relief, Hajime finally let her go. Hajime couldn't help but notice her bright red cheeks.

"Getting cheered up by a boy isn't like me at all!" Mahiru pouted.

Hajime couldn't help but smile at her comment.

"Well… what now?" Mahiru asked.

Hajime breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the bed next to Mahiru. "Well… you still need to get caught up on everything that's happened, you should probably talk to Sonia, and we need to go give everyone else the good news! But first…" Hajime leaned behind him, picking up a backpack. He sifted through it before pulling out a yellow beach towel.

"Go take a shower, you stink." Hajime threw the towel next to Mahiru with a cheeky smile on his face. He was ready for the onslaught of remarks about his comment, but rather, Mahiru smiled.

"You know… you've changed Hajime."

"Huh?"

"I can already tell. You have more confidence in yourself."

"You think so? Thanks…" Hajime was now the one with red cheeks.

"Oh, but don't think I didn't hear your comment. I'll make you pay, just you wait!" Mahiru wore an evil grin. Hajime couldn't help but gulp.

"Shall we go? The shower isn't too far."

"Yeah." Mahiru picked up the towel and folded it over her forearm. "A shower actually sounds perfect right now."

Hajime wrapped her arm over his shoulder and helped her limp towards the bathroom. Once there, he sat her down next to the bathtub.

"Alright. I'll wait outside. Just give me a yell when you're done." Hajime went to walk away, but Mahiru tugged at the edge of his shirt. "What's up?"

"Before… when you said, you missed me. Were you…" Mahiru tilted her head up, facing him. Hajime smiled back. "I was serious. I'm really happy to have you back Mahiru."

Hajime could have sworn that her face went so red that she wouldn't have any blood left in her feet. "Yeah, whatever... Get out of here! I'm trying to take a shower you know!"

Hajime giggled and closed the bathroom door behind him.

Mahiru leant over and turned the dial of the shower to its max setting. The cold water stung her skin slightly, and she flinched at the sudden shock.

Before she started getting changed, however. Now confident the shower would mask the sound. She hugged her legs and buried her face into her knees, whispering; "I missed you too."

_**Authours Notes:**_

Hey everyone! Long time, no see!

Sorry this chapter is a little late! Exams and everything... but the good news is I'm on break at the moment! So I'm hoping to have another chapter out this week, although I'm guessing it will be a little shorter compared to the others. In any case, expect more from me soon!

Anyway, as for this chapter, Mahiru! Our little cupcake is finally back!

She's still got a long way to go before she is as recouped as the others, not only that... she's still got a confrontation with Fuyuhiko to come. But I'm so happy she is finally awake!

Thanks so much for the kind reviews, they mean the world! Seriously! Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! It really gives me the drive to continue!

Alright, that's about it! See you soon!


	12. Polaroid

**Fuyuhiko & Akane**

"Oh, come on! Let me do this one thing!" Fuyuhiko protested as he pulled the bucket away from Akane.

"It's my mess, I'll clean it!" Akane pulled the bucket back towards her, some of the soapy water spilling out and over her shirt.

"You helped me before! I'll do it this time!" Fuyuhiko snarled yanking the bucket back towards him.

After finishing the dishes, they went to finish cleaning up Teruteru's bloodstain and Akane's vomit. Both were too stubborn to let the other do the job. A predicament that looked like it would have no timely conclusion until the plastic bucket couldn't take the tug of war anymore and ripped apart, drenching them both with its contents.

They both stood there in shock for a time as if somehow by not moving the situation would fix itself.

"Well, shit…" Fuyuhiko sighed.

* * *

**Mahiru**

"Come on, Mahiru!" She slapped herself on the cheeks with the palms of her hands. "Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't you dare cry!"

She could feel the tears swell in her eyes. Unsure why she was crying; all she knew was that she couldn't stop it. She lowered her face under the shower head, this way, she wouldn't be able to tell.

...

Hajime leaned against the wall of the bathroom, sitting on the cold lino floor. He could hear the crashing of water from the shower behind him and the occasional struggle of Mahiru repositioning herself. He wanted to spend this downtime with Sonia, but she left after her fight with Mahiru, he hoped she was alright, and considered leaving to see her but quickly justified that wouldn't be a good idea. He found it odd, although this was only a short time by himself, he felt lonely.

Without warning, the shower turned off. Hajime was now only hearing the dripping of water off Mahiru's soaking wet body.

"Ah, Hajime. You still there?" Mahiru's voice sounded anxious.

"Yeah, I'm here Mahiru, what's up?"

"I uh… oh, here it is! Just looking for the conditioner, never mind!" She quickly turned back on the shower before Hajime could reply.

"Okay…"

Hajime collapsed onto his side and closed his eyes. While he didn't feel sleepy, it found it was easier to keep his eyelids closed rather than open. He couldn't help but think about what Mahiru and Sonia argued about, he didn't know they had such a history together while despair. He had memories with Mahiru as Kamukura, but never with Sonia as far as he could recall at least.

_"You filmed what happened to me, didn't you?"_

_"Chiaki's parents' blood is on your hands."_

'What happened between you two?' Hajime wondered as without realizing he drifted off to sleep.

Hajime was startled awake from the sound of sniffling next to him. When he looked up, he saw that Mahiru was sitting across from him, the shower was off, and she had a hairbrush in her hand.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." Mahiru combed the brush through her hair vigorously, attempting to get the plethora of knots and tangles out.

"Hey no… I'm sorry. I don't know why I fell asleep." Hajime scratched at his head before sitting up.

_*Sniff*_

He heard Mahiru sniff again, he focused on her facial features and realized she had puffy, red eyes.

"You okay?"

Mahiru paused, the brush halfway through her hair before resuming. "Does it get easier?"

"What do you mean?"

"This overwhelming sadness. Does it go away?"

"Oh ah… yeah!" Hajime gritted his teeth.

Mahiru scowled, "I thought you were going to be honest with me?"

"Sorry," Hajime fiddled with his thumbs, he felt like a child being caught with his hand in a cookie jar. "I'm just scared. I… I don't want to lose you as well."

"You don't want to? Oh…Teruteru…" Mahiru whispered.

"Yeah."

"I… I would not do something so cruel." Mahiru gave a soft yet sad smile. "Please don't feel that you have to take care of me."

Hajime nodded, although it was of little comfort, he appreciated the sentiment. "It doesn't go away but… it does get easier."

Mahiru squeezed the brush between her fingers before vigorously brushing once again. This time however Mahiru winced. Removing the brush from her head a long and thick lock of her hair came with it. She rested it in the palm of her hand, letting it droop over the edges of her palm. She stared at it for a long time, as if studying it. "Will things ever go back to the way they used to be?"

"The way things used to be?" Hajime murmured. He looked out the window that Mahiru was sitting beneath. It was getting later now; the afternoon had begun. He thought back on his time on the island, remembering one of the first things he and Sonia talked about was when everything would go back to normal.

_"Look at us Hajime, we have only been awake for a few hours, and we are already talking about romance."_

Hajime smiled to himself, remembering that moment.

"Things will get more normal quicker than you think, they did for me at least."

Mahiru furrowed her brow unsure at Hajime's sudden and seemingly unfounded confidence, "what makes you say that?" Mahiru noticed that Hajime was smiling to himself, giggling, before realizing that he needed to respond.

"Hey, Mahiru!" Hajime spoke with glee.

"W-what!?"

"Knock, knock!"

* * *

**Kazuichi & Yuki**

"Duuuuuuuudddddeeeeee!" Kazuichi grabbed onto Yuki collar and shook him back and forth. "Duuuuuuuuddddeee! HOLY SHIT!"

Yuki continued to look on, trying to make sense of what he was looking at. The cabling for the alarm was concreted into the flooring of the storage building.

"Come on! This basically proves it right!" Kazuichi's eyes sparkled.

"Yeah, okay…" Yuki was still a little shocked at the development, although as he thought about it, he wasn't sure why he was so enamoured by it, "this is pretty damming evidence." He realized he was probably just excited because Kazuichi was excited.

"Alright! We gotta go tell the others about this!" Yuki yelled before dashing across the warehouse.

"H-hey! Where are you doing?" Yuki called out to him as he darted around the shelving.

"One sec… I just want to grab a couple things real quick… Hajime wanted a picnic rug, and I want to get Mahiru a present!"

"A present?" Yuki watched as Kazuichi continued to dash around the warehouse going through various boxes.

"Yeah, I don't know. Just a little 'welcome back' thingy."

"That's thoughtful."

"Meh." Kazuichi waved dismissively. "Aha! Here we go!"

* * *

**Hajime & Mahiru**

"Interrupting cow w-"

"MOO!" Hajime shouted with absolute joy.

Mahiru stared at Hajime with concern, darting her eyes left and right as if to confirm what just happened with her surroundings. "Oh, that was the joke? Okay." Mahiru smiled with pity.

Hajime's entire being collapsed on itself in self-pity. "It's uhh… nevermind." Hajime covered his face with his hands utterly overcome with embarrassment.

That's when out of nowhere he heard it. Mahiru's laugh, it was high pitch and slightly hoarse. She coughed a few times but powered through as she continued to giggle into the palms of her hands. It was sweet and happy, nothing close to the person he was talking to moments ago.

All of Hajime's previous embarrassment left as he watched in awe at the sight in front of him. Mahiru's smile as she giggled was incredible. A look of pure and unbridled glee albeit because of Hajime's failed joke. He couldn't help but smile as well.

"Geez, if you can still make awful jokes like that, I guess things aren't all bad!" Mahiru now noticing Hajime's fixation, composed herself but maintained a small smile.

…

Time passed as Mahiru continued to brush her hair, slowly and now far more carefully, getting all the knots and tangles out. Hajime watched in silence, letting the reality that his friend was back dawn on him. Simply enjoying her presence.

"What do I say to Sonia?" Mahiru asked sombrely.

Hajime smiled, "It's Sonia. Just talk to her."

"What if she hates me? What if she doesn't forgive me?"

Hajime sighed but maintained a nostalgic smile, "Sonia doesn't seem like the type of person to hold a grudge, and I can always talk to her if necessary."

Mahiru fiddled with her thumbs, "you'd do that?"

"Of course!"

Mahiru continued to fiddle with her thumbs, he could tell she was anxious.

"What's up?" Hajime asked.

Mahiru squeezed her fingers together and bit at her bottom lip, Hajime realized that she was starting to shake, "I… I have so many questions… but… I'm scared to know the answers."

Hajime looked down dejectedly, there wasn't much he could do. Eventually, she would have to learn the truth of their situation. After an awkwardly long time, Mahiru asked her first question.

"Teruteru… he's dead. Is… anyone else?"

"No but…" Hajime hesitated considering the best way to explain their situation, Mahiru flinched hearing his hesitation, now terrified of what he was going to say. "A lot of us are still asleep. After they died in the killing game, they uh… sleep now. We still have to wake a lot of people up, you were the third."

"Did Hiyoko!?" Mahiru's face pleaded for confirmation of her friend's safety and success, but as Hajime didn't answer right away, she understood what had happened.

"No…" Mahiru covered her mouth as if trying to stop herself from screaming. "It can't be…"

"Hey, we'll get her back! We're not stopping until everyone is awake, okay!?" Hajime reasoned, but Mahiru's sadness was quickly surpassed by her anger. "Who!? Who killed her!?"

Hajime wasn't sure if the answer to that question would help, as he redirected his gaze away from her.

"Where!? Where is she!?" Mahiru panicked attempting to stand up but falling over in the process, her legs not ready for the sudden shift in weight. She collapsed and landed with a thud, her hands narrowly stopping her face from hitting the floor.

"Mahiru!"

Hajime dashed to her side, but she brushed him off, determined to do it herself. With her legs literally shaking as they struggled to support her weight. She clenched her teeth in determination and pain as she struggled upwards. At last, she reached her goal and was standing on her own, although not for long as her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the floor once again, panting from the effort.

"Are you okay?" Hajime asked sheepishly.

"How do you explain it, huh!? We weren't despair in the killing game, yet people still participated! How!? How can we still claim to be innocent after that!?" Tears were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes once again, her frustration and anger taking form.

"I… uh…" Hajime backed up a couple paces bumping against the wall behind him.

"Stop stuttering when you speak and answer me! Who killed Hiyoko!? WHO KILLED ME!?" Mahiru yelled as she clutched at Hajime's shirt, yanking him lower. Her voice still crackly and struggling as she spoke, yet it didn't faze her.

"No one killed in cold blood. There was a moti-"

"Bullshit! Why would someone kill Hiyoko! Why!? Why… why… what did she ever do… what did I ever do… you're all monsters!" Mahiru now directed all her anger towards Hajime. Hearing Mahiru like this as well as being compared to a monster once again tore him apart as he struggled to keep himself composed and comforting.

"You fucking monsters! Killing a defenceless girl! You all-" Mahiru continued to shout and rave, yelling and swearing. Calling them evil and Hajime felt a part of him begin to snap. One that loved his new family so much and couldn't bear hearing someone talk so awfully about them.

**"I'm sick of your shit! Where do you get off judging us all for our actions!?"**

**"Defenceless girl? She was a teenager like the rest of us!"**

**"Why did you have to say all those things to Sonia?! She doesn't deserve it!"**

Hajime was about to yell and scream back. He was about to say all the things he was thinking, but just as he went to something caught his eye. Mahiru's bald spot where her hair just came out. Slightly bloody and pale skin could now be spotted around the sea of ginger hair. A reminder of what had just occurred, Mahiru had been through all this torture and torment just like them. Only minutes ago, she woke up to find that she aged years in the blink of an eye. Seeing that her body was broken and fragile never to fully recover, not even being able to stand on her own.

Hajime recalled his own experiences after just waking up and how hard it was. How he also ranted and raved about being monsters after falling back into despair. Yet Sonia helped him and comforted him, she didn't insult him or berate him for feeling that way. She… helped him.

Hajime realized he was the one being far too judgemental. He smiled a warm and loving smile, which seemed to piss off Mahiru further as she continued to berate him. Finally, Hajime leaned down to her level and hugged her. She resisted trying to push him off.

"What the hell is wrong with you! Murderer! Psycho!" She struggled against his grip, but as she continued, her fighting and yelling slowly ceased as the sounds of her cries became more and more apparent.

"I'm sorry, Mahiru. I'm so so sorry." Hajime kept repeating this again and again. Although it felt a little odd to say with how short of time he had actually known her, he thought it appropriate to make sure she knew just how much she's cared about.

"We love you, Mahiru, we all love you and care about you. Everything is going to be okay."

Mahiru whimpered into his shirt, as her voice got quieter and smaller, her anger subsiding. "Ass… jerk… dummy..." Mahiru's voice finally gave out as a tiny moan left her throat. No longer obliging to her demands as it begged to recover.

"It's okay… you don't have to say anything. You're okay." He caressed her hair, feeling her smooth and damp hair beneath the palm of his hand.

…

Some time passed as Mahiru slowly calmed down. Hiccupping and coughing often between her cries. Once she finally calmed down, she hugged Hajime back, even tighter than he was hugging her. She leaned her head back and attempted to speak, but only a small squeak left her throat like a broken toy. She furrowed her brow, frustrated about what to do, eventually getting his attention and mouthing the words "I'm sorry."

In reply, Hajime buried her face back into his shoulder and patted the top of her head. "You have nothing to apologize for. I know you are hurt and confused right now, but things will get better. I promise, and we'll all be here for you every step of the way."

"T-th-nk -u…" Mahiru struggled to whisper.

Hajime realized just how unfair he was being. He wasn't surprised she needed to vent and yell, letting out all her frustrations and anger. It was unhealthy to keep it bottled up, and he was glad she let it all out. He leaned back against the wall, still supporting Mahiru's upper body with his and took a deep breath.

"Everything's going to be okay," Hajime said out loud. More to himself than Mahiru as he rubbed her shoulder and closed his eyes. Once again, he convinced himself he wasn't tired and was just resting, but like last time he quickly fell asleep.

**Fuyuhiko & Akane**

"You idiot!" Akane shouted now shaking out her shorts in a futile attempt to get them dry.

"It's your fucking fault! Just let me do this one thing!" Fuyuhiko retorted.

They both patted down their clothing, angry at each other.

"Why do you always have to be so damn stubborn!"

"You're one to talk!"

Akane watched as Fuyuhiko scowled at her before his gaze softened looking behind her. She turned around to find Sonia leaving the research building. She had her arms crossed with a distant stare on her face, clearly deep in thought. She didn't seem to notice them as she approached, merely walking with no particular destination in mind.

"Sonia?" Akane asked, curious at her current state.

"Oh?" Sonia looked up and around as if suddenly realizing where she was. Sonia forced a smile before greeting them, "hello."

"What happened?" Akane asked, now distracted from her argument with Fuyuhiko.

Sonia saw Fuyuhiko's blank and pale expression, scared of what she would say. "Mahiru is awake and well. Hajime is with her currently."

Akane and Fuyuhiko breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she was okay. Their attention now directed towards Sonia's wellbeing.

"Why the long face?" Fuyuhiko asked as he bent over, picking up pieces of the broken bucket.

Sonia inquisitively studied what he was doing but quickly dismissed it. "We… did not get along."

"Huh?" Akane shouted. "Sonia actually got in a fight with someone!? Is that even possible?"

"It seems so…" Sonia attempted to smile but could no longer hold back her frown. With a sigh, Sonia passed Akane and Fuyuhiko sitting nearby on the steps of the restaurant. She planted her chin onto the palms of her hands and looked off into the distance.

Fuyuhiko and Akane exchanged glances as they tried to figure out what to do. Both uneasy at the usually optimistic and hyper Sonia's now down trotted demeanour.

Seeing Sonia deal with actual issues while they fought over something so trivial made them both feel like idiots. As they wondered how to help Sonia, Fuyuhiko came up with a solution to both their problems.

Fuyuhiko got a devilish grin and flicked his nose with his thumb, taunting Akane. "You know what… I'm sick of your shit Owari. How bouts we have ourselves a little competition?"

Akane widened her stance now facing Fuyuhiko fully. He could have sworn he saw lightning leave her fingertips. "Oh yeah!? You're on! What are we doing!?"

"The first one in the pool has to go get a new bucket and clean this shit up."

"You're going down baby gangsta!" Akane shouted as she charged towards him.

"Oh yeah!? BRING IT ON!" Fuyuhiko was ready to charge, but before he did, he pointed towards Sonia, "you're ref, got it!?"

Sonia now broken out of her trance watched as the two charged at each other trying to grapple at each other's legs.

"Oh my! Is this what is known as sumo wrestling?" Sonia jumped up with joy, now fixated on the competition in front of her.

It seems Akane understood what Fuyuhiko was trying to do as she played along, making an incredibly long an intricate fight commence. It transitioned from grappling with each other to martial arts to kickboxing. The whole time Sonia cheered and clapped, awestruck by the battle in front of her. In the end, it looked more like pro-wrestling than anything else.

The performance ended with Akane spinning Fuyuhiko around in circles by the ankles. Fuyuhiko was screaming in horror the entire time. She let him go, and he flew into the pool, making a massive splash as he landed.

Sonia cheered running up to Akane and lifting her arm into the air, "We have a victor!"

"BOOYAH!" Akane pumped her fist in the air.

Fuyuhiko raised his head out of the water and spat out water in an arc in front of him, a horrified look cemented on his face. "Oh fuck… I thought I was going to die…"

"Haha, maybe went a smidge overboard." Akane teased. "Good game!" Akane leaned down, offering Fuyuhiko a helping hand.

"Heh, well played." Fuyuhiko reached for her hand but saw his opportunity. He held out his other hand, indicating Sonia to help as well. Sonia obliged grabbing hold the moment he did Fuyuhiko propelled himself forward dragging both of them into the water with him.

"HA, HA! TAKE THAT Y- *GURGLEGURGLEGURGLE.*" Before Fuyuhiko could finish his taunts Akane dunked his head underwater as Sonia removed her bow, now accepting that this was happening. She quickly accompanied Akane in her attempted waterboarding.

…

After some time of splashing, dunking, piggyback riding and regular swimming, exhausted the three of them sat on the steps of the pool, panting for breath. Sonia held onto her knees, regaining her breath, but when she looked up, she found Fuyuhiko and Akane smiling at her.

"Feeling better?" Akane asked.

"Hmm?" Sonia began wringing out her hair, getting the majority of the water out.

"Are you feeling any better now?"

Sonia looked puzzled for a moment wondering what exactly Akane was asking; finally, she realized. Her mouth went agape, and her eyes wide in surprise.

"You… you did this for me?"

Both Akane and Fuyuhiko chuckled before smiling at each other, now confirming each other's intentions.

"You guys…" Sonia let out a small and happy yelp. "You are such amazing friends!" Sonia put an arm around each of them.

Fuyuhiko awkwardly looked away, trying not to show his embarrassment as he did his best not to resist the interaction and patted her on the back. "Yeah… yeah…" Fuyuhiko groaned.

As Fuyuhiko was let go, he took this opportunity to escape from any more physical interaction as he started briskly walking away. "I lost, so I'll go grab another bucket and clean up, I'll be back in a bit!" He ran his words together as he increased in speed. While Sonia was oblivious to his obvious escape, Akane chuckled. "What an idiot."

* * *

**Hajime & Mahiru**

Hajime dragged his heavy eyelids open to find Mahiru staring at him, he jumped a little but quickly composed himself. "Were, you…" Hajime began to question.

"Watching you sleep? Yes." Mahiru gave him a sly grin.

"Yeah alright, it is creepy."

Mahiru jabbed him in the ribs, "see! Told you."

They both smiled at each other.

"Well before I fall asleep again…" Hajime rustled through the backpack, "here." Hajime pulled out a white singlet, a pale green skirt and a yellow cardigan, "Sonia picked these out for you. Although there isn't much choice, so I hope you don't hate them too much." Hajime placed the clothing onto Mahiru's lap. She lifted each item of clothing and tugged at the fabric, checking it for any holes or signs of wear, nodding after checking them all.

"Thanks, these will work. Now… shoo shoo!" Mahiru flicked her fingers towards Hajime, gesturing him away.

Hajime rolled his eyes, "I'll wait in the other room. Let me know when you're done." As Hajime went to leave, he felt Mahiru tug at his shirt.

"Wait a second."

He turned back to find Mahiru fiddling with the buttons on the cardigan, bright red in the face.

"What's up?"

"I umm…" Mahiru sighed. "Do you have… you know?"

"What?"

He heard Mahiru growl under her breath before whispering, "underwear…"

"OH!" Hajime chuckled, "yeah sorry, probably don't want to go commando, aye?" He zipped open a different section of the bag, before losing his any semblance of confidence and shyly pulling out a blue bra and matching panties. He awkwardly tossed them over.

Mahiru quickly hid them under her other clothing and nodded, "thanks…"

Now feeling the awkward tension, Hajime grabbed the bag and promptly exited the hallway into the adjacent bathroom. He realized that it might be kind of weird getting changed in a hall but figured it was too late now. He slid down the rough wood of the door into a sitting position.

Determined not to fall asleep this time, he twiddled with his thumbs making sure to keep his eyes open.

After a few minutes, Mahiru called out, "Okay… you can come out now."

Hajime sighed with relief that this situation was over and hastily opened the door. He found Mahiru leaning against the window looking out across the ocean. Dark clouds were now visibly approaching. Her expression could only be described as melancholic as she focused on the darkening horizon. When he approached, she gave him a brittle smile and handed him the neatly folded hospital gown that she was previously wearing.

"Do I look any better?"

Hajime looked her up and down, head to toe. Long red hair, the same rosy cheeks, freckles and olive-green eyes. Now accompanied by her buttoned-up cardigan and skirt. "You look like the same Mahiru Koizumi to me."

Mahiru lightly chuckled, "that a good thing?"

Hajime nodded, "I think so."

Mahiru ran a hand down a lock of her hair before protruding her bottom lip and blowing air upwards. Her bangs lifting before falling back onto her eyebrows. "Wish my hair was shorter though, I could really use a haircut."

"Same here." Hajime turned his head to the side and using his index finger, bopped his small ponytail up and down.

Mahiru stifled laughter with a look of delight on her face, "You have a ponytail! I didn't even notice!"

Hajime let out a begrudged sigh.

"Oh no! Come on, I was just surprised. You look cute."

"Cute? Is that a good or a bad thing?"

Mahiru shrugged while she giggled to herself.

Hajime shook his head, "shall we go then?"

"Alright."

Hajime put on the backpack and started helping Mahiru down the hallway. Having her limp while her arm was around his shoulders.

"I still don't know who's awake or asleep, I've got so many questions," Mahiru said as they approached the stairwell.

"Yeah… guess I never got around to answering any, huh? Well let's go meet with the others, and we'll do it there, that sound alright?"

Mahiru took a deep breath and nodded, "sure."

…

As they exited the research building, they heard chatter and stifled laughter, eventually coming to see Akane and Sonia sitting on the steps of the pool, with their bare feet caressing the edges of the water. Their backs were towards them as they approached, Hajime faced Mahiru to see her eyes light up.

"Akane!" Mahiru called out, waving.

Sonia and Akane turned around, seeing them approach, Sonia quickly averted her gaze as her posture tightened. Akane, on the other hand, waved back with a delighted grin.

"Yo, Mahiru! Get over here, girl!" Akane yelled.

She hastily paraded over to Mahiru, embracing her in a big bear-hug and lifting her into the air.

"AHAHAHAHA!" Mahiru's joyous laughter was intoxicating, as Hajime couldn't help but let out a stifled laugh.

"Look at you! You're looking great!"

"Thanks…" Mahiru scratched the back of her neck, "not too much damage done."

Akane suddenly swept Mahiru off her feet, carrying her in her arms towards the pool.

"Hajime wasn't too much of a creeper, was he?"

Mahiru giggled, "no, he was good." She looked over Akane's shoulder to see a smirking Hajime tapping his foot and rolling his eyes.

"Since when have I ever been creepy!?" Hajime called out as he went to follow.

After a few paces they arrived at the pool Akane placed Mahiru down next to Sonia. A noticeable tension between them was visible as they both turned away from each other.

"Oh, right…" Akane muttered under her breath.

"Sonia…" Mahiru started.

"Yes?"

"I'm… I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said those things."

Sonia's visible tension dissipated hearing Mahiru's apology, she turned her body slightly to face her more.

"I'm sorry too, I should not have said what I said either." A silence followed as Hajime and Akane exchanged looks of worry. Akane elbowed Hajime to get his attention, she whispered in his ear. "What even happened between them."

Hajime shrugged, "not my place to say."

Akane dropped her shoulders and sighed.

"Can we… forget I said any of that and start again. You… you mean a lot to me; I don't want to lose our friendship." Mahiru stuttered.

Sonia didn't move, her back still facing Mahiru. "Do you… do you despise me? For the things I have done?"

"No, no! Sonia, no! I… I was confused and… hurt. I felt like we were responsible for those things, but not anymore. H-Hajime convinced me."

Sonia slowly nodded, "Thank you, but now I cannot help but wonder if Chiaki hates me…"

"She loved you, you both spent so much time together."

"But her parents…"

Mahiru looked toward Hajime for assurance, he nodded.

"Were killed by Junko Enoshima, **we were controlled like puppets**," Mahiru said as if reading off a script, Hajime could tell she didn't fully believe the words she was saying.

Sonia turned her whole body around, a desperate pleading in her eyes; "you really think so?"

Mahiru gulped swallowing her doubt, "**yes**."

Sonia looked at her in awe before sighing with exasperation, "I am sorry, you just woke up. Come." She held out her hand and sat Mahiru closer to her. "We shall discuss everything and anything until our voices are hoarse!"

Mahiru smiled with delight, "My voice already is, but I still have a lot of questions! Sounds like a plan!"

Akane jogged over and sat down next to them. Hajime breathed a sigh of relief, he hated conflict between them, although he realized just how much in-fighting was to come.

"Hajime, join us!" Mahiru called out, "you can't leave yet! You still haven't answered any of my questions!"

"He has not? Hajime! What have you been doing this whole time!?" Sonia cried out.

"Oh… ah… sleeping for the most part." Hajime bowed his head and clapped his hands together, bowing slightly, "sorry."

As Sonia went to tell him off a distant echoing yell interrupted her.

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Everyone stared toward the direction of the distant cry to find Kazuichi and Yuki, running toward the group.

Mahiru chuckled, "oh jeez… this idiot is awake, huh?"

As they got closer, Hajime noticed another figure in the distance behind them holding a bucket, slowly approaching with nervous steps.

…

Once Kazuichi and Yuki finally caught up, Kazuichi gave a thumbs up and winked, "What's going on dude!"

Mahiru smiled, "Hey, good to see you guys. Also, nice beard Kazuichi!"

Kazuichi smiled and stroked the mane of hair protruding from his chin, "I look dignified right!?"

"I don't know if I would say that…"

"Hello Koizumi, it is nice to see you again." Yuki bowed his head.

"Hey… um… Mitarai, no? Togami?"

"Those were people I was disguised as. I go by Yuki now."

"Oh! Yuki, huh? That's a cute name, also call me Mahiru."

"Oh really… thank you…" Yuki blushed a little at her forwardness. "You look good with long hair."

"Really?" Mahiru curled a lock around one of her fingers, "thanks, but I really want to cut it when I get the chance."

"Me too!" Kazuichi scratched furiously at his beard, "Sure, I look great with this, but it's itchy as hell."

"Yeah, I need to shave my beard too…" Hajime sarcastically said as he flicked the bottom of his chin with his fingers. It only having the occasional small black hair poking out in random places.

"Oh jeez, that's embarrassing Hajime…" Mahiru stifled laughter.

"Hey!" Hajime snapped, "I can grow more facial hair than you!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at the terrible joke except for Sonia who laughed uproariously.

"I mean, I used to cut my sibling's hair all the time. I can give you all a hair cut if you want?" Akane offered.

"Oh shit! Really?" Kazuichi said.

"Yeah, sure. Never cut beards before, but you just need it short enough to shave, yeah? I can do that."

"I want a goatee!" Kazuichi yelled.

"You are not getting a goatee." Mahiru shook her head.

"Awww, why not!?"

"It would look awful! You're creepy enough."

"I mean that's great and everything, but we don't have any scissors…" Hajime sighed.

"**Fuyuhiko** has a razor, remember? We can just use that." Akane dismissively flicked her hand behind her shoulder.

Mahiru froze, "who?"

"Me." Fuyuhiko suddenly appeared at the other end of the pool, pulling the razor out of a pocket of his cargo shorts. He slowly made his way around the pool, Mahiru followed his every movement, staring until he eventually arrived next to the group.

Fuyuhiko looked toward the floor and gulped. "Hey… Mahiru."

Mahiru was still frozen, carefully examining Fuyuhiko. The silence was unbearable as Mahiru continued to glare. He averted his gaze every time she looked him in the eye. No one moved, no one wanted to breathe, as they felt unbelievable tension surround them.

"It's Koizumi…" Mahiru's voice was more profound than usual.

"R-right… s-sorry." Fuyuhiko stumbled on his words.

Using the metal bar of the stairs leading to the pool, Mahiru stood up. Using it to help support her weight, she now stood face to face with Fuyuhiko.

"You want to tell me what happened?"

Fuyuhiko struggled to breathe, his vision going blurry. He couldn't comprehend how he was meant to admit to her what happened.

Akane noticing this spoke up, "hey, Mahiru… I'll explain it. You two were arguing and…"

Mahiru raised her hand with a quick slicing motion, showing the palm of her hand toward Akane. "Stop. I want to hear it from him."

Fuyuhiko's face was pale and his palms sweaty.

"We were arguing, then what? I don't remember, because… oh, that's right, I died. Enlighten me, Kuzuryu."

Fuyuhiko trembled, only just managing to stand on his own two feet. "I… I… I'm sorry."

"That doesn't answer my question!" Mahiru snapped, "What the hell happened!?"

Fuyuhiko just stood there, like a deer in headlights, unable to act. Mahiru's anger was eating away at him.

"Tell me!" Mahiru yelled.

"I… I… I…"

Mahiru slammed her fist on the metal railing, making it rattle. "Please, help me understand!"

Fuyuhiko closed his eyes and concentrated, he pretended he was somewhere else. His happy place, but where that was, he wasn't sure. He had no close attachment to anywhere in particular. But after some time, an image started fabricating itself in front of him. Not of a location but a person. He wasn't surprised, he had always felt safe and happy with her.

Fuyuhiko took a deep breath and spoke.

"I wanted you dead. I was frustrated and angry that you were calling me out. Pekoyama, she noticed this and acted. She killed you for me. In the end, she died, and I lived."

"She… Peko…" Mahiru's expression changed from anger to betrayal. Her entire relationship with a person she thought she knew crumbling in front of her, all a façade.

"She was my bodyguard, brought up by the Kuz-"

"Shut up!" Mahiru snapped. She didn't want him distracting her as she still came to terms with the revelation.

"Mahiru…" Hajime muttered, but she ignored him.

"And Sato… that was you, right?" Mahiru's nostrils flared her anger now returning.

"Yeah," Fuyuhiko answered blankly.

Mahiru nodded. She covered her face with her hands and rubbed it up and down. Doing her best to resist the urge to punch him. Doing her best to control her rage. Fuyuhiko expected her to swear, maybe hit him, maybe run. What he didn't expect was the calm and collected response she gave, one that hurt him far more than a punch would.

"**You're everything I thought you were."**

Fuyuhiko eyes bulged as he attempted to come to terms with this newfound guilt. "I know."

"Okay." Mahiru closed her eyes and took multiple breaths in and out. She had never felt this kind of anger in her entire life, this feeling of hurt and betrayal. "This is how… 'this'" Mahiru pointed at Fuyuhiko then herself, "is going to work. From what I've gathered we're going to be on this island together whether we like it or not. So… don't talk to me. Don't look at me. I no longer exist to you. I don't care what you've been through. You killed my best friend." Fuyuhiko was about to say something, but Mahiru quickly yelled over him.

"AND I DON'T GIVE A SHIT THAT SHE MURDERED YOUR SISTER! Two wrongs don't make a right. Or are you saying it would be justified for me to kill Peko since she killed me?"

Fuyuhiko's fists tightened.

"No? Didn't think so." Mahiru shook her head. "Then once all this is over, we go our separate ways, and I never have to see your face again. Got it?"

"Yes…"

"Great. This was the last time we will ever talk, so go do whatever it is you do. What? Rob someone? Blackmail? Extortion? Maybe go kill-"

Akane placed her hand on Mahiru's shoulder, her presence looming over her, "that's enough."

Mahiru paused, surprised at Akane's sudden intervention. She composed herself and sat back down.

Akane smiled grimly at Fuyuhiko, trying to offer the little comfort she could provide. "You have the bucket now, yeah? Why don't you go clean that stuff up now?" Akane looked at him, a clear begging in her eyes. "I'll catch up with you later."

Fuyuhiko nodded, picking up the bucket and a nearby sponge. He started walking to the stain of blood and vomit nearby, he whispered "I'm sorry" as he left. Mahiru ignored him.

The rest of the group was left in extremely awkward silence. For the first time, they felt that the group was fractured. A feeling nobody liked as it would be difficult to support both Fuyuhiko and Mahiru. When any relationship or friendship is broken up, whether they like it or not, mutual friends usually wind up picking a side. If it's deliberate or accidental, it ends up happening none the less. They all hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"So… haircuts?" Kazuichi questioned, desperate to end the awkwardness.

What Kazuichi didn't see, nor Mahiru, was Akane staring daggers at the back of Mahiru's head. Her expression not that of anger but disapproval.

"Yeah, haircuts, right." Akane took a deep breath doing her best to calm herself down.

The group did their best to gather any enthusiasm they had left and after grabbing Fuyuhiko's razor, headed for the beach.

* * *

While each person got their haircut, everyone discussed what happened in the killing game and island, catching Mahiru up with everything she had missed.

First up was Kazuichi. Akane trimmed his beard down as far as she could and cut his long hair back to the partial mullet that he was used to. She agreed that a goatee was a terrible idea to his immense disappointment.

Next was Sonia who wanted the ends of her hair evened, giving exact measurements and cutting styles which Akane did her best to replicate.

Hajime got his ponytail removed to his pure delight. Eventually regaining his old shaggy hair, he loved so much.

Yuki got his hair cut into a slick, combed back look.

Last up was Mahiru. Since they were done talking, they took the opportunity to enjoy the final moments of warmth before the storm arrived as they played around in the ocean. The sun was starting to set in the distance.

Mahiru sat in front of Akane on a slight decline on the sand so she would have leverage. She began cutting away at her the edges of her hair, the blade now slightly dulled from all the use.

"I respect the decision you made; I think distance will be good," Akane admitted.

"You think so?"

"I do, but…"

"But?"

"He's a different guy now. I hope you'll give him a chance to prove that."

Mahiru looked down the beach at her friends playing in the ocean. Specifically, she focused on Hajime. He was giving Sonia a piggy-back as they battled Yuki giving Kazuichi a piggy-back. Both teams were trying to knock the other person off. She could just make out the sound of them shouting and laughing over the crashing of the waves. She felt a little guilty, but she couldn't help but stare at Hajime's bare chest and felt a tinge of envy at seeing Sonia being so friendly with him. She quickly dismissed those thoughts and started considering what Akane said.

She could tell that Hajime was different, he was more confident, friendly, funny, maybe he had always been that way. She never got to find out because she was killed, which upset her to realize.

While she was embarrassed to ask, she justified that it was loosely related to what Akane said.

"Since when were Hajime and Sonia so close?"

She couldn't see it, but she could feel Akane rolling her eyes, "oh, you have no idea. It's been kind of annoying actually. They were the first two to wake up, so they've spent a lot of time together."

"Oh…" Mahiru felt… she wasn't sure how she felt, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling. "Hajime's changed."

"Yeah, he's not a little bitch anymore. HAHAHA!"

"Jeez, Akane." Mahiru couldn't help but chuckle. "Look. I've been awake for only a few hours, just give me some time. I'm still working through all this. If Kuzuryu has changed anywhere close to how Hajime has then…"

"Yeah?"

"I'll consider talking to him. But I don't know if I can ever forgive him for what he's done."

"Thank you." Akane rubbed both her shoulders. "Looks like we're all done."

"Already!?" Mahiru snatched a small makeup mirror that Sonia brought and checked her reflection. Her hair was now back to being a short bob cut, just how she liked it. She could also see Akane's massive grin in the reflection behind her.

"You like it?"

"Yes, I do! Thanks, Akane. I really appreciate it." Mahiru smiled back in the mirror's reflection.

"Alright!" Akane patted her knees and got up with a heave. "I gotta go and see how Fuyuhiko is doing."

"Oh…" Mahiru drooped her head and started fiddling with the mirror. "You… close to him?"

Mahiru shifted her head back and forth, left and right, to-and-fro. "Hmm, yeah, I think so. We're at least a lot better friends than we used to be."

Mahiru shyly nodded.

"As I said, he's a changed guy. Peko's death. It had a big effect on him. A positive one."

"A changed guy, huh?"

"You don't believe me?"

"No, not yet anyway."

"Fair enough, like I said, distance will probably be good, for a time. Don't rush things, y'know?"

Mahiru forced a smile and nodded.

"But listen. At the end there… when all you did was insult him. That wasn't on. You're better than that."

Akane's words cut surprisingly deep. Mahiru felt tears start to swell in her eyes at the thought of Akane's disappointment in her.

"I-I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Oh yeah, one last thing."

Akane waved down Kazuichi and pointed at Mahiru, he gave the thumbs up back before being bowled over but Sonia and Hajime.

Akane smiled at Mahiru, "He told me something while I was cutting his hair, he's got something for you."

Mahiru gave Akane a sceptical look.

"It's a good thing, I promise. Anyway. It's good to have you back."

Seeing Akane being so caring to the point of even voicing her concerns made Mahiru realize something, she couldn't help but get a giddy grin at the realization.

"You've changed to Akane."

"I have!?" Akane shouted as if this indeed was ground-breaking news.

"The way I've seen you talk with everyone, help everyone, support everyone. Your kind of like… a mother."

Akane took a step back and cringed. "No! No, shut up, I'm not anyone's mother."

"Hmmm…" Mahiru scratched at her chin, thinking, which concerned Akane.

"What?"

"I've got it!" Mahiru cheered. "Mammakane! That can be your nickname!"

Akane screamed in horror, garnering the attention of everyone else at the beach. "DO NOT CALL ME MAMMAKANE!" She quickly realized the mistake she made as she saw Hajime and Kazuichi start stifling laughter.

"Hey sorry, we're back Mammakane!" Kazuichi called running towards the pair.

"Yeah, sorry we took so long Mammakane!" Hajime jested.

Akane grabbed Mahiru by the collar and pressed her face up against hers. She prodded at her chest with her index finger. "I won't forget this Mahiru!"

Mahiru replied with howling laughter. Akane sighed, realizing that the damage had already been done. She picked up the razor and started walking off.

"Mammakane where are you going!?" Kazuichi called out.

"Mammakane, come back!" Hajime cried.

"Oh, Mammakane, Mammakane please return to us post-haste!" Now Sonia had joined in.

Akane flipped them off as she left, muttering profanities.

"Enjoy your swim?" Mahiru asked as they started to dry themselves off with towels they brought down from the cabins.

"It seemed we were no match for Hajime and Sonia's tactics I'm afraid." Yuki sighed.

In perfect sync, Hajime and Sonia high-fived before cheering "UNDEFEATED!"

"Just cause I got distracted by Mammakane! That's the only reason you won!" Kazuichi protested.

"Oh yeah!?" Mahiru placed a closed fist on the palm of her hand. "Akane said you have something for me Kazuichi?" Mahiru tilted her head inquisitively, uncertain at what he could possibly have for her.

"Right!" Kazuichi dived towards his backpack and started digging through it. "Let's see here… oh man, I hope it didn't get damaged on the way here." Mahiru looked around at the group who smiled back, it seemed they knew what it was. Which made her even more curious.

"Here we go!" Kazuichi pulled out a small Polaroid camera. It looked brand new, shiny with a glossy rose gold colouring to it. "I made sure to grab some film as well. I think it should work?" Kazuichi went to hand it to Mahiru who backed up a couple of steps. A frightened expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Kazuichi asked with a certain sadness to his voice.

"I uh…" Mahiru gulped. "Haven't used a camera since… I was uh…"

Hajime walked forward and grabbed the camera from Kazuichi. He looked Mahiru in the eyes, and with a calm, soothing voice, similar to that of which he used earlier, he spoke. "That wasn't you, you're an amazing photographer."

Mahiru gritted her teeth and looked away, still unsure of what to do.

"Don't you want proof?" Hajime asked. "Proof that we are here, free of despair. That we spent time on this island together and that we tried. Maybe one day we will be able to look back at your pictures and smile."

Mahiru breath was taken away from Hajime's impromptu speech, her cheeks now a slightly rosier colour of red. Slowly and timidly, she reached for the camera and took it out of Hajime's hands. Feeling the cold metal surface of it and its weight was comforting somehow. She realized she always felt best when holding a camera in her hands.

"Thank you, Hajime. You're very sweet." Mahiru smiled.

She fiddled with a few buttons and checked through the viewfinder before nodding in confirmation.

"Alright, I think it works. Only one way to find out. Who wants their picture taken?"

Sonia's eyes lit up. "Oh, please, Mahiru! May you take a picture of Hajime and I?"

Mahiru giggled, "well when you ask like that, I can't say no."

"Oh man…" Hajime sighed. "I don't want my picture taken I probably look terrible right now."

"Nonsense!" Sonia dragged him by the hand a few steps over, so the ocean and setting sun was behind them.

"Oh fine…" Hajime gave up, it was hard to protest when she was this excited.

"Alright…" Mahiru got up into a kneeling position and made hand gestures while looking through the viewfinder. Getting them to move around to make sure their positioning was perfect. "Okay, that should do it! Say cheese!"

"Cheese!"

"Cheese!"

_*Click*_

"Oh shit! I don't think I was looking at the camera!" Hajime yelled. "Can we get a redo?"

"It's a Polaroid camera, you idiot! There are no redoes." Mahiru rolled her eyes and laughed.

"I am sure it will look fantastic, Hajime!" Sonia insisted.

After a few moments, a small white square popped out the bottom of the camera. Mahiru flicked it up and down a few times, drying the ink before looking at the result.

Her excited expression vanished, now looking at it with a combination of sadness and frustration.

Now concerned, Sonia quickly ran over. "May I see it?"

Impulsively Mahiru recoiled from her, hiding the picture against her top.

"W-what's wrong, is it that bad?" Sonia asked.

"Ah…" Mahiru looked at the picture again. She stared at it for a long time, carefully trying to discern an interpretation for the photo that wasn't what she thought. But as she looked at Hajime's expression, she was reminded of what he had said earlier today.

"I am asking you, no I'm begging you Mahiru. Please don't take her away from me."

Mahiru tried to justify why he said that. Maybe she was just an excellent friend, or he cared for her a lot more than the others, but she knew… it was... more than that.

'God… I'm an idiot.' Mahiru sadly smiled at the photo. 'At least he's happy.' Mahiru thought.

"Hey Kazuichi, you got a vivid?" Mahiru called out.

Yuki scoffed. "Why would he have a-" Kazuichi reached into the front pocket of his bag and pulled out a vivid. "…Nevermind." He tossed it to Mahiru.

"That okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Mahiru quickly wrote something below the photo before handing it over to Sonia with a satisfied sigh and a wink.

Once Sonia had the picture in her hands, she took a deep breath before looking at the result. A delighted smile instantly appeared on her face, accompanied by red cheeks.

Hajime sighed. "Oh no, is it that bad. Do I look stupid?"

Sonia shook her head, her smile even more prominent.

"Then what is it?"

Sonia clutched the photo to her chest and closed her eyes, overjoyed with the result.

"Oh, come on, let me see."

Sonia shook her head again.

"Why not?"

Sonia faced Mahiru, her smile transforming to one of gratitude. "If it is alright with you Mahiru, may I keep this photo?"

"Of course!"

"Sonia!?" Hajime asked now baffled by her reaction.

She replied with a cheeky grin and a giggle before running off.

"Sonia!" Hajime called out. Sonia ignored him, now running toward her cabin to keep the photo away from prying eyes. She wasn't sure why, but she really liked the idea of this one thing being exclusively for her eyes only.

"What's got her like that?" Hajime asked Mahiru.

Mahiru shrugged, "You're not one for subtlety, are you Hajime?"

"What are you talking about?" Hajime ran his fingers up and down his face, seeing if he had something on it.

Mahiru patted him on the shoulder, "good luck!"

"What the hell are you on about?"

Feeling satisfied with his confusion, Mahiru sat back down and looked out toward the horizon.

'Maybe… maybe one day someone will look at me like that.'

* * *

_**Authours Notes:**_

Hello hello! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you're a little confused about the ending, let me quickly clarify something. I got some artwork commissioned by the very talented artist, Koiboi of the picture in question. At the end of the chapter, the photo that 'Mahiru took' is meant to be there, unfortunately, due to the constraints of the website I can't post it here. So here's a quick description:

Sonia is smiling at the camera with Hajime next to her, the setting sun behind them. Purples and blues, illuminating the environment around them. Hajime was not looking at the camera, however, distracted by Sonia for a brief second he is seen staring dreamily in her direction. Completely oblivious to anything around him, like in that one moment, she was the only thing that existed. Beneath the polaroid, what Mahiru wrote reads: "You're lucky."

I'm so sorry about that! If you want to see the amazing artwork you can find it on AO3, if you have any problem finding it, please don't hesitate to message me.

Thank you so much for reading!


	13. Love & Hate

Hajime smoothed out the edges of the rug, careful to make sure there wasn't a single crease. He kept an eye on the sky nervous that any moment it could rain but persisted with his plan anyway. The Crème de la crème of his endeavour being the bottle of wine he snagged from the kitchen. Like that, it was ready. He tried calming down and waiting, but he couldn't sit still, a nervous excitement carrying him to pace around, waiting for her to arrive.

Until…

He heard footsteps tiptoe behind him.

"Sonia! You're finally…!" Hajime realized it wasn't Sonia.

"W-what are you doing here?" Hajime stammered; he couldn't help the feeling that he had been caught red-handed.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, what is all this?" Chiaki began investigating the scene circling the blanket and taking note of each item in the area. "Let's see here… a picnic rug, a woven basket with two glasses and a bottle of wine protruding from it and a big purple fuzzy blanket. Hmmm, interesting." Chiaki smiled with a slight cockiness; evidently, she knew exactly what was going on.

"I… I can explain!?"

"Explain what? You don't need to explain yourself."

"But I…" Hajime collapsed to his knees, overcome by guilt. "I should have waited…"

"Hajime, I don't understand you. It's like you expect me to, but I don't." Chiaki slipped off her pink-tinted shoes and carefully kneeled onto the blanket. Tucking in her skirt as she did so. She patted a spot next to her before looking out to the setting sun.

Begrudgingly, Hajime dragged his feet over. Without taking off his shoes or making any effort to look dignified, Hajime collapsed onto his knees next to her, looking toward the horizon as well.

"You're in my head, so can't you read my mind or whatever?" Hajime asked.

"I want you to explain your feelings to me, verbalize them."

Hajime noticed she didn't answer his question but decided to follow her advice none the less.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I can tell your feeling guilty. Why is that?"

Hajime felt as if he was being grilled by a detective, although with everything they went through, that wouldn't be too far off.

"We… we made a deal. Sonia and I. She would confirm her feelings for Kazuichi and Gundham, and I would confirm my feelings for you…" Hajime clenched his teeth as if to try to stop himself from talking, it pains him to admit what he was feeling. "But here I am, trying to… trying to… dammit, I don't know…"

Chiaki stayed silent and still. Hajime couldn't quite gauge what she was thinking.

"And I uh… see we woke up together and I… this island we… and then… umm…"

Chiaki giggled, "you're not very good at this, are you Hajime?! Do you want my help?"

Hajime let out a sigh of exasperation while rubbing his brow before nodding.

"You've always had feelings for me, since the first day we met. Those feeling grew and grew as we began to rely on each other, not very different to how you and Sonia are now. But… before you could do anything about those feelings…

**I was taken away.**

Now, all that love you once had for a person is teetering on the edge of a cliff. Desperately wanting to take the plunge but unable to. Whether or not I liked you back doesn't matter because…

**I'm gone.**

You can't get confirmation nor a rejection, so there those feelings stay on that cliff. Never getting a final answer on what to do."

Hajime was left speechless, hearing these things Chiaki spoke as if they were the most obvious things in the world yet to him it was like she managed to untie a massive knot of emotions with only a few tugs.

"And Finally, there's Sonia."

Hajime's head spun away from her, a mix of guilt and embarrassment building inside him.

"While you may have been content to let those feelings stay there. Up, up and up did your feelings for Sonia climb, until without even realizing it, they were at the cliff too, also ready to jump. To take a chance, to take the plunge.

Still, though, your feelings for me remained. So now you're finally left with the question of what to do. Should your feelings for Sonia wait their turn, one which may never come. Or should they go for it, push aside those other feelings and do what they truly want, as much as it pains them to do so."

Hajime stared at this apparition, unable to speak or move. Completely awestruck in amazement at its deductions.

"I'm sorry my analogies can be a little confusing sometimes…"

Hajime shook his head, his expression maintaining the same sense of wonder.

"So, did I get it all right?" Chiaki placed a hand on her chest and smiled.

"You did but… you left something out."

"Oh, really? What's that?"

"You."

Now Chiaki was the one confused, turning away from the horizon and facing Hajime.

"What do you feel, Chiaki?"

"Oh…" For one brief moment, a 'blink or you'll miss it' moment. Hajime could have sworn he saw Chiaki frown before returning to her usual warm smile. "Hajime, what I feel doesn't matter-"

"**BULLSHIT!" **Hajime cut her off. "Your feelings do matter! Because I care about how you!"

Chiaki's warm smile slowly transformed into a sad one. "You feel guilty because you think I might be upset?"

"Well, I…" Hajime's cheeks got red, realizing just how arrogant that sounded. "Well… are you?"

Chiaki thought for a moment, her face scrunched up as if trying to solve a problem. "You have no obligation to feel that way, it's not like we ever dated."

"I know… I know…" Hajime's demeanour softened. "Maybe you didn't like me at all, and only thought of me as a friend… but still! I care about how you feel Chiaki! If you're upset because I'm doing this, if you don't want me to then, I'll call the whole thing off. I'll bury these feelings."

Chiaki paused, staring into Hajime's red and green eyes.

"**I can't feel. I'm not real."** Yet while those words left Chiaki's mouth, Hajime could see an unbearable sadness behind her rose-coloured eyes. A contradiction between her words and emotions. Without really thinking, Hajime blurted out a thought that shot through his mind as it questioned his surroundings.

"**Just what are you?"**

He could see her panic for a brief moment before composing herself.

"Please remember what I said. I want you to be happy, Hajime, so please. Don't let any feelings for me block the path for future ones."

"Are you sure?" Hajime asked seeing that sadness behind her eyes, one she refused to admit to.

Chiaki slowly got up and took a few paces forward, feeling the grass beneath her stockings. She kept her back faced toward Hajime as if hiding something as she stared toward the outer edges of the setting sun.

"So, you really do like her?"

"…Yeah."

"Right." Chiaki nodded, "I don't want you to feel guilty Hajime, so I'm not going to mince my words. Go date Sonia, go be happy, take the plunge. I…" Chiaki's voice cracked she quickly coughed, trying to cover it up as nothing but a scratchy throat. "I really hope it works out."

And like that she was gone once again. As the sun finally hid behind the horizon, Hajime collapsed onto his back and looked up to the stars. This was the first conversation he had with her that felt… conflicted.

'Should I go for it? Honestly… she left me with more doubt than anything else.'

He realized he would eventually have to decide; Sonia should be arriving at some point, and he would have to confront her.

* * *

Sonia turned off the shower and carefully wrapped a towel around her torso before tiptoeing out. Unexpectedly she noticed a white slip of paper that was slid under her cabin's door. Curious to what it could be she picked it up right away before sitting on the edge of her bed and reading it aloud.

_If you want to go stargazing with me one last time before the storm arrives.  
I'd really like that.  
I'll be at the meadow if you want to join me.  
\- Hajime_

Sonia read the note a few times over, confirming its contents. As she did, she got more and more embarrassed, eventually covering her bright red face with the paper.

'Is this a date!?'

Her feelings for Hajime were conflicted and confused ones. She kissed him the night they got out of the simulation and slept in the same bed. They held hands and made out a couple nights ago, but she still felt embarrassed to simply entertain the idea of liking him. Each moment of passion was fuelled by strong emotions and the spirit of the moment. Depression, fear, anxiety all these things prompted those interactions so now that she felt slightly more clearheaded than usual, she found the determination to confirm her feelings.

'Do I even like him?' Sonia thought about this question a lot, but now she might finally be able to find an answer on what seemed to be a date. One that they were both willing participants off that was not fuelled by trying to negate negative emotions but trying to cultivate positive ones.

And just like that, thoughts of the end of the world, the storm, killing, despair, all had vanished. Now Sonia was nothing but a nervous wreck as she wondered what to wear.

* * *

**Akane & Fuyuhiko**

"Fucking Mammakane… never gonna hear the end of it… fucking assholes" Akane grumbled under her breath as she stomped toward Fuyuhiko's cabin, as she did so she caught a glimpse of Hajime slipping something beneath Sonia's cabin door.

"Better be a goddamn love letter, you two just need to fuck and get it over with…" Akane was in a bad mood after being teased. She was usually on the dealing end, not the receiving.

She kicked stones along the path on her way there. Without realizing, she had arrived outside Fuyuhiko's cabin. After five obnoxiously loud knocks, Akane called out.

"Yo! You there!?" Akane howled at the door.

It took a few moments until she could hear Fuyuhiko's meek voice whisper through the door, "Hey… yeah, I'm here. It's open."

As Akane turned the handle, she suddenly had a strange feeling of trepidation come over her. As she entered, Akane realized why she felt this way, she could usually trust her gut when it came to these things. Something was very wrong with Fuyuhiko. He sat on the edge of his bed, hands neatly intertwined sitting on his lap, unmoving, unblinking, he seemingly stared into an abyss. He didn't acknowledge Akane's presence, continuing his wistful trance.

"You're not looking so hot." Akane snickered, trying to lighten the mood.

"Okay."

His answer bothered her; he wasn't one for neutral responses, often arguing his opinion even when it's an offhand comment.

"Well uh… want me to cut your hair? You're looking a little shaggy." Akane asked.

"Akane…" Fuyuhiko's voice was dull, but an evident pain could be heard behind his monotonous words. "I think it's best if you stay away from me."

"What?"

"You heard what Koizumi said. I'm not like the rest of you."

Akane stood there for a moment as she collected her thoughts. She shifted her weight foot from foot as she considered precisely how to reply.

"She really got to you, huh?"

Fuyuhiko didn't react.

Akane sighed as she sat down next to him, the bed squeaking as she did so. She noticed sitting next to him that he was staring into the mirror attached above his sink in the bathroom. His expression remained blank. Akane interrupted his introspective brooding by squishing her face next to his while adorning a warm smile.

Fuyuhiko quickly redirected his glance toward the floor.

"I'm a killer." Fuyuhiko drooled those words as they barely managed to escape his throat.

Akane sighed and scratched at her head.

"Yeah. You are." Akane begrudgingly admitted.

"Then why… why are you here? I'm a piece of shit killer fuck scumbag fuck cunt goddammit…!" Fuyuhiko trailed off into profanities. He covered his face with his hands, trying to hide the fact that he was crying. Akane sighed once again. She could relate somewhat to what he was going through, furthermore for once in her life, she actually had some advice to give. Akane collapsed off the bed and onto her stomach, audibly groaning into the carpet at the incoming heart to heart that she was probably going to regret. Akane still didn't like all this emotional stuff so she tried to avoid it as best as she could, but she couldn't bear seeing Fuyuhiko like this.

Akane let out one more sigh before rolling onto her back and looking up at the ceiling.

"Fuyuhiko… I'm gonna tell you something about me, but I want you to promise not to tell anyone else, okay?"

Fuyuhiko sighed, "it doesn't matter, don't bother."

"Just say 'yes'…"

Fuyuhiko rolled his eyes at the incoming lecture, "yes. What is it?"

"I don't know about the others but learning that you killed someone back in high school…

_**It doesn't affect my opinion of you one bit."**_

* * *

**Mahiru, Yuki & Kazuichi**

Yuki and Kazuichi helped escort Mahiru to the restaurant as she still couldn't walk on her own. After sitting her down at a table, Yuki began to cook while Kazuichi kept her company as he did so.

"Drink this." Kazuichi slid a bottle of green liquid across the table to Mahiru.

"What is it?" Mahiru picked it up, inquisitively studying the contents.

"Vitamins, minerals and shit. I don't really know, but apparently, it's good for us."

Mahiru pouted unsure at the prospect of drinking something that looks so disgusting.

"It made me feel better!" Yuki called out from the kitchen.

Mahiru sighed before opening the cap and sniffing the contents. It smelled… 'healthy'.

"Hey Kazuichi, mind giving me a countdown…?" Mahiru timidly proposed.

"Sure, three, two, one, chug!" Kazuichi yelled.

Mahiru began to down the entire bottles contents, small drips of green rolling down her cheek in the process. Kazuichi cheered her on the whole time. Once finished, she slammed the bottle onto the table and wiped her mouth clean with the back of her hand.

"Oh god, that was… that was…" Mahiru shrugged, "actually, not that bad."

Kazuichi laughed uproariously at the sudden change in attitude. "Good to know you can be a complete derp like the rest of us, Mahiru!"

While Mahiru would usually be bothered by a comment like that, she decided to let it slide. She giggled along as well, realizing that he was accurate in his judgement if nothing else.

"Alright, I'm no cook, and it's not like we have many options in the way of ingredients but Bon appetite!" Yuki placed three plates on the table. "Tonight's dinner consists of pasta and a tomato sauce. With a side of rice. Desert entails peaches with some cream if you're up for it."

Kazuichi could barely contain his excitement as he bounced up and down in his seat. "Holy shit dude! I don't know the last time I actually looked forward to eating, this looks great!"

"Wow…" Mahiru now felt guilty that he put all this work in. "You… didn't have to do all this."

Yuki smiled before sitting down, pleased with their reactions. "Nonsense. Today's been a rough day for all of us, we should eat well at the very least."

Suddenly Mahiru stood up and bowed her head before Kazuichi and Yuki, "T-thank you for taking such good care of me!"

Kazuichi and Yuki looked at each other then back at Mahiru before bursting into laughter.

"There's nothing for you to thank us for!" Yuki smiled.

"Yeah, we got each other's backs. You just woke up, so it's only right we help take care of you!" Kazuichi slapped the table with the palm of his hand. "I know you'll have our backs going forward as well!"

Red.

It was the only colour on Mahiru's face. Having such absolute faith and trust placed with her made her so incredibly embarrassed. Yuki and Kazuichi noticed her ripening appearance instantly.

"AWWW, who knew Mahiru could be so adorable!" Kazuichi cried, hands clasped together in front of him at the adorable sight.

"Are you another Imposter!" Yuki pointed an accusing finger at Mahiru. "The last time I checked Mahiru Koizumi was not one to fall to the temptations of flattery. Let alone look this cute!"

Her face continued to get redder and redder, but not out of embarrassment but of frustration.

"S-shut up! I'm not cute!" She karate-chopped them both on top of their heads with quick and well-aimed strikes.

* * *

**Sonia**

The walk was long, but not tedious. It's not every day you get to walk around a tropical island near sunset. Although the mood was partly soured by the dark clouds, now firmly looming over the island threatening to release its contents at any moment.

Sonia quickly broke herself out of her anxiety and quickened her pace toward the meadow. Presumably, Hajime would be waiting for her there, and she had a lot she wanted to talk about.

…

After some time, Sonia had passed the storage building, now drawing closer to her destination. As she got closer, she became more and more aware of her appearance. Insistently checking her hair and bow as well wiping down creases and loose dust off her clothing. While she eventually decided on an outfit to wear, she wasn't confident in it. Having little experience in dressing for hot weather, nor so casually, so she tried her best with the limited knowledge and articles of clothing she had.

Her outfit consisted of black stockings; a dark grey V-neck shirt accompanied by a dark purple skirt with a red seam around the bottom. A black belt and red cleats. As always, her diamond bow graced her head. While anyone wouldn't call her anything less than gorgeous, Sonia didn't feel that way, still getting used to her new clothing, age and appearance.

She wondered what would happen, was it really a date or was she being presumptuous. Would it rain before they left? Was she arriving too early? Sonia couldn't help but panic, but over something so trivial as seeing a friend, it was comforting in a way.

The trees ceased; a new shade of green being revealed. A meadow of grass and flowers of varying colours. The setting sun illuminating the scene and at the top of the slight incline was a silhouette. It sat there, watching the sunset. It was a breathtaking view, something straight out of a painting. The only thing missing was herself.

Sonia stepped into the painting as if it were another world. One of fantasy and love, beauty and happiness. This was something she had always wanted, a romantic evening with someone she liked. A friend, someone she could rely on, and even if she decided that a relationship with him wouldn't work out, she took great comfort in the fact that no matter what they would always be there for each other.

Sonia quickened her pace as she began to jog up the incline towards the silhouette, she could feel her heart racing, a gleeful smile on her face.

'I'm happy. I'm finally happy. I…'

Sonia's body stopped moving as she felt a shudder crawl up her spine.

She stood there frozen, unable to move, a mix of fear and anguish overtaking her. Suddenly words ringed around her head as she reached this precipice of happiness.

"Please no …" Sonia's voice was cold and brittle.

'_**Do you think Chiaki deserved her parents being killed? Do you think she would ever forgive you for that?'**_

"Please… no… not now…"

'_**If she was here right now… she would hate you.'**_

"I'm begging you, go away. I… I just want this one moment. Please let me have this one moment with him."

'_**And even though we have all been through so much, we still deserve more torture. Is that correct?'**_

Sonia closed her eyes as tight as she could and covered her ears with the palms of her hands, hoping that this unbelievable guilt would go away, that these voices would stop being so loud.

'**Yes.'**

"NO! No, no, no, no…." Sonia murmured through clenched teeth waiting for the ordeal to be over.

Then… silence. She waited for a few more moments, letting herself calm down before timidly squinting open her eyes.

She was back in the same picturesque landscape; the sun was now hidden away with moon and stars illuminating her surroundings. Sonia gulped, she didn't feel right anymore, she felt... she wasn't sure… but she was no longer in the good mood that she was in before. With heavy footsteps, she made her way across the rest of the meadow.

* * *

**Akane & Fuyuhiko**

"The fuck are you on about?!" Fuyuhiko snapped, tears had formed in the corners of his eyes. "I killed a person; I bashed her goddamn head in with a baseball bat! You can't possibly say you don't hate my guts!"

Akane's scowled at him angrily. "Don't you dare tell me how to feel. I would never hate you…"

Fuyuhiko chocked on his words. He couldn't understand what Akane was thinking or feeling. She seemed annoyed more than anything, which confused him.

"I don't hate you, Fuyuhiko. I honestly don't but… I have a reason why that is." Akane let out a big huff before repositioning into a cross-legged position and facing him. "Like I said, I want to tell you something about me."

"Oh…" Fuyuhiko was still sceptical but decided to let her speak. He wasn't sure if it was out of obligation or curiosity, but he relaxed his body and listened attentively.

Akane's demeanour changed she seemed anxious in fact Fuyuhiko could see tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes. She kept fiddling with the carpet and her fingers trying to distract herself from whatever was bothering her. "Okay… shit, look I don't know where to start cause I've never told anyone about this before."

"Okay…" Fuyuhiko's voice was now timid and comforting, having read the room.

"Just… I know I'm repeating myself but don't tell anyone about this. Please…"

That request bothered Fuyuhiko. Not because he couldn't comply but the way she asked it. With Akane, she would usually follow up such a statement with an "I'll beat you up if you do!" or something along those light-hearted lines. The difference this time is a very meek and straightforward "please" followed, she was desperate to talk about this but equally desperate for no one else to hear about it. Fuyuhiko no longer thought about his own problems but now solely wanted to help Akane and he figured the best way to do that was to listen.

Fuyuhiko nodded his head and averted his eyes away from her. It's always easier to talk if someone isn't staring at you.

"Right, okay…" Akane took a few deep breathes and began. "I grew up in a shithole. No food, no warmth, no money, violence around every corner that it wasn't even a surprise to wake up to a dead body on the side of the street. There was no point making friends cause one day they would just… not show up anymore…" Akane's eyes were glossed over as she recounted her past, she quickly composed herself and waved her hand in the air.

"Anyway, blablabla sap story who gives a shit, I'm getting distracted already. The point is this place was hell, and the only thing I had going for me was… being a semi-attractive girl."

"Oh, shit…" Fuyuhiko muttered before covering his mouth, now having an idea of where this story was likely going.

"I grew up with a revolving door of parents, suddenly mum would have a new lover, and before you know it, we've suddenly got another mouth to feed. The dude's she would bring home were... goddamn freaks. Sure, half of them were from the area and were poor like the rest of us, but some of these dudes came from wealth, and they knew how to hold it over our heads like a fucking carrot. It was hard to say no because if they wanted to, they could save us all from our shitty situation."

Akane's nostrils flared, and she banged the floor with her fist.

"But what do you know, every time they had their fun they would dip, and we would never hear from them again. Some stuck around longer, but the moment they learnt a kid was on the way they would leave. They never even got to meet them…

**Juro**, Itsuki, **Yui**, Miku, Himeji even… me… and they were the sweetest fucking kids you'd ever meet. Didn't matter that they came from shitty people and lived in a shitty place they were so…"

Akane held back tears, she still wasn't able to think of them without crying.

"But those assholes never tried to reach out to any of us…"

Akane suddenly felt something roll down her cheeks, she quickly realized they were tears. She wiped them away, hastily before continuing.

"So, while our mother kept betting on some knight in shining armour to save us all I was left with taking care of all the li'l ones. Constantly working, constantly scavenging, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough. There were so many of us, and I was only a kid… a goddamn kid."

Any kind of composure Akane had managed to maintain up to this point had vanished, she choked on her words while speaking. Tears now streaming down her face. The volume and pitch of her voice rising and descending between cries.

"I gave everything trying to protect those li'l ones… they deserved so much better. So, when I was offered a chance at giving them a better life, I took it…" Akane brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them. A firm scowl now on her face tears still falling down her cheeks.

"Some dude recognized my talent for parkour one day and signed me up for acrobatics. Turns out being on the run from perverts your entire life makes you a pretty good athlete. Unfortunately… I couldn't outrun him."

Fuyuhiko was utterly immersed in her story. He never heard about any of this. He figured she was just some airhead that was good at jumping. Although he was nervous about where this story would go, he wanted to hear the rest of it. He didn't speak just giving a confirming nod every now and again to show that he was still listening.

"As it turns out, he didn't recruit me out of the kindness of his heart…. The worst thing was I didn't even know he was taking advantage of me." Akane had to keep wiping tears off her cheeks.

"My whole life up to that point I always did "favours" for my stepdads. I'm sure you can imagine what those would be like… so, when my trainer told me to train without panties on or let him feel me up, I just thought… I don't know. Like I was doing him a favour, something as simple as grabbing someone a drink or washing the dishes. I thought people using my body was just a normal thing that happened to all the girls… I even…" Akane paused as if she was frozen in time as she recounted the tragic events of her past. Slowly she started to move, she covered her mouth with the palm of her hand as if to stop herself from speaking. Her movements then suddenly became erratic and forceful, she grabbed her head as if trying to crush her own skull and headbutted her thighs as she hid behind them.

"Yui…" Akane muttered. "I'm so sorry."

Fuyuhiko waited for Akane to calm down. He thought over what he had been told, and while happy that Akane felt she could open up to him like this, he had no idea how this story affected her opinion of him.

'_**It doesn't affect my opinion of you one bit.' **_

"Why are you telling me all this?" Fuyuhiko asked nonchalantly.

Akane paused her crying and let out a small moan. She scratched the side of her head seemingly slightly calmer after Fuyuhiko's question.

"I didn't learn how fucked up my reality really was until I made it big and was invited to Hope's Peak. Nekomaru he… he taught me about respect, kindness… consent. I grew up with men that saw women as nothing more as something to stick their dick in. That I was an object to be taken advantage of due to my naivety. That's how I grew up. Nekomaru he…"

It looked like Akane was about to start crying again before she gritted her teeth jumped up and slapped herself on the cheeks.

"Fuck! Okay, anyway… the point I'm making here is that you and me are the same."

"What!? I'm not following."

"We were taught how the world operates from some fucked up parents who tried to lead us into their way of thinking. You killed that girl because she killed your sister, right? Let me guess, that's commonplace in the Yakuza. Revenge killing."

Fuyuhiko let out a tediously long and insulting sigh, "that's what you're fucking story was building to?" Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue, "look it sucks what happened to you. It really does, but it's no parallel for me. I… I knew what I was doing was wrong."

Akane's determination didn't falter with Fuyuhiko's dismissal, she sat down on the bed next to him. Now staring him down. "Don't bullshit me, you were taught that's what you're meant to do."

"I mean sure, but that doesn't excuse my actions."

"I never said it did."

They both sat there in silence for a while. The last of the beams of lights from the sun filtering through the blinds before disappearing. They were both left in darkness, now only seeing the outlines of each other's faces.

"I was raised to be a murderer, is that your point Akane? … I'm sorry but… that… doesn't do anything for me."

Akane sighed and scratched at the side of her face, trying to think of how to help now. It seemed her plan was to no avail. But if growing up in that kind of environment was no excuse for him, then about her… she couldn't help but think that. That if Fuyuhiko thought that his upbringing doesn't excuse his actions, then what does that mean for her?

'Was it my fault? Did I ask for that? Should I have been smarter?'

Akane's confidence dissipated. Her plan had gone to ruin and even worse, she now starting to feel responsible for being abused.

"I'm sorry for bothering you." Akane's voice was neutral. She simply got up and left in a rush.

* * *

**Mahiru, Yuki & Kazuichi**

"How is it?" Yuki asked while twirling a piece of pasta around his fork.

"It's great! Thanks again, Yuki!" Mahiru smiled so warmly it made Yuki blush.

"Eh, it's alright." Kazuichi cheekily smiled before continuing to stuff his face. Yuki rolled his eyes in reply.

The three enjoyed this moment of simplicity immensely. A desperately needed break from all this action as the three lazily ate and regained their energy.

But all good things must come to an end, and eventually, they all reached the bottom of their bowls. They all sat there for a little while longer, not talking, not really thinking either, just… being.

"Where's Hajime and Sonia?" Mahiru asked softly, yet it still made the two jump at the sudden noise.

Kazuichi dismissively waved before getting up and heading to the kitchen with their three dishes. "Eh, Hajime wanted a picnic rug. So, I'm guessing a date or something."

"Oh…" Mahiru bit at her bottom lip before noticing than Yuki was looking at her, she quickly regained her composure and smiled.

"Anywho, I've got 'a be off too." Kazuichi knocked on the wooden table twice and chuckled. "I'll catch ya later." He began briskly walking towards the outside stairs of the restaurant.

"Wait!" Mahiru called out to him. "Where are you going!?"

"I got some blueprints to design! Tata." Kazuichi left Mahiru's sight, now she sat alone and face to face with Yuki.

"Jeez, he left in a hurry," Mahiru growled.

"I'm sure there is a lot on his mind. He probably wants to be alone." Yuki nodded as if agreeing with himself.

"I guess…" Mahiru pouted.

"Speaking of which." Yuki cleared his throat before continuing, "what about you? Anything on your mind?"

"Oh, me!?" Mahiru felt as if she was suddenly being accused, she waved her hands in front of her frantically. "Nope, nothing!"

Yuki looked back with a baffled cynicism.

"I guess, that was a pretty obvious lie, huh?" Mahiru chuckled with a forced smile.

"Just a smidge."

Mahiru twiddled with her thumbs, occasionally looking up at Yuki to see that he was still expectedly staring at her. Finally, she paused her fiddling, an air of silence filling the room.

"How'd you do it, Yuki? Forgive Teruteru like it was nothing?" Mahiru timidly asked she wasn't sure if it was appropriate to bring it up. When she finally dared to look him in the eyes, he smiled.

"Simple, I just saw the good in him."

Mahiru scrunched up her face, "the good in him?"

"We spent years with him back in Hope's Peak, and he was nice. A massive pervert, but apart from that. I guess, when I met Teruteru again when he woke up, I didn't see the one that killed me but the one that I spent time with, in high school."

Mahiru placed the palms of her hands on the table and very softly began headbutting it. Grimacing each time, she hit herself. "Am I being selfish? Should I just forgive him?"

Her headbutting was interrupted when she suddenly felt the press of Yuki's hand against her forehead, blocking her from doing so. She raised her upper body to face him but was startled to find that he wasn't composed anymore. A hint of anger now disguised in his voice and movements.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. At the end of the day, I think the others have underestimated just how hard it is for us. You know, the whole thinking you're dead when hey, you're alive again but also you're a murderer, and everyone you love is dead."

Mahiru couldn't help but smile a little at Yuki's sarcasm. "Yeah, you know, just one of those things, huh?"

Yuki looked at his wrist as if he was checking a watch. "Gosh Mahiru, what has it been now… a few hours and you're still upset that the world ended! The nerve, I say!"

Mahiru was now laughing alongside Yuki's overtop the acting. "I am truly sorry! I must check myself!"

* * *

**Sonia & Hajime**

Hajime was a boiling pot of emotions; he couldn't begin to understand what he was feeling, but when he heard Sonia's soft footsteps approach, it was as if he was whole again. He quickly sat up and turned around. The first thing his attention was drawn to, was her hair, it was as if it was sailing in the wind. She carefully tucked it behind her ear on one side, trying to stop it from blowing into her eyes. Her outfit dark but it made the reds of it pop even more so. Even in the limited moonlight, her bow could still be seen sparkling.

Hajime sat there in awe with a dumbfounded expression cemented on his face. Gorgeous wouldn't even begin to describe how amazing she looked, somehow the moonlight brought out her best features and hid her flaws in the darkness. Her pale skin was as if it was glowing.

"Hello." Sonia shyly interrupted Hajiime's gawking having noticed him staring at her with such intensity. What Hajime didn't realize, however, was how she was doing the exact same thing. He wore a white collared shirt with black pants and a dark bracelet. Although typical to the attire he adorned in the simulation, it looked more refined. Losing the tie, with his older appearance and slighter more muscular form made a big difference. She continued to stare, noticing more and more things that she hadn't before. His shoulders and chest were broad and rigid, but his gaze was soft and kind. An alluring juxtaposition of roughness and charm. Short hair which at first glance may look shaggy but with closer inspection is neat and tidy. His strange mixture of red and blue eyes piercing her usually composed exterior as if he could see through any sort of façade with them. This all made a whole which could be described best with a straightforward word; handsome.

"Hey." Hajime's voice was raspy, his breath having just been taken away.

Sonia timidly walked over and examined the scene. Hajime had his eyes glued to the rug beneath him, embarrassed now by his efforts.

"This is for me?" Sonia asked hesitantly.

"Ah…" Hajime scratched at the back of his neck, "yeah…"

Sonia smiled a big broad smile, but behind it, Hajime could tell it was pained. "Thank you… I… I do not know the last time someone has done something this kind to me."

They both remained in awkward silence for some time. Sonia standing nearby with Hajime too nervous to look her in the eye. The lull was finally broken when Sonia pointed towards the basket.

"What do you have there?"

"Oh!" Hajime's anxiety evaporated as he got excited to show off what he found. "Check it out, I found a bottle of wine in the back of one of the cupboards in the kitchen!" Hajime displayed it proudly, clutching it in both his hands.

Sonia was now equally excited by the discovery. Forgetting her anxiety, too, she quickly sat down next to him before examining the bottle.

"Oh my!" Sonia gasped as she examined the label closer.

"What is it?"

"Well… this is a whiskey, not a wine." Sonia handed the bottle back, letting Hajime look at the sticker. "See here…" Sonia grabbed Hajime's hand and directed his finger to a line on the label, "single malt whiskey blend." Sonia read off the words as she traced them with Hajime's finger. Having finished, she realized she was holding his hand and quickly removed it. She cleared her throat, regaining her composure before she continued. "So, this will most likely be a lot stronger than your average wine."

Hajime sighed, "oh, I see…" He couldn't disguise the disappointment on his face. "I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention for us to drink heavily or anything." He went to put it away before Sonia grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"Hajime."

"Y-yes?" Hajime stuttered in reply.

"Let us get hella lit!" Sonia exclaimed grabbing the two wine glasses she spotted in the basket and clinking them together.

Hajime couldn't help but laugh whenever Sonia tried to use slang, he suddenly felt stupid for being so nervous. This was Sonia, his best friend, he always had a good time when she's around.

"Hell yeah! Sounds like a plan!" In one smooth movement, Hajime tossed the bottle in the air before catching it in his other hand and popping the cap off.

* * *

**Kazuichi**

With one last flourish of the pen, Kazuichi signed his work in the bottom left corner.

"20 minutes!" Kazuichi shouted to the heavens, "that's all it took and done. Easy-peasy!" He rolled up the blueprint and alley-ooped to the corner of the room. "Great, now that that's ready, there's just one more thing I need to do…"

Kazuichi's mood quickly shifted to a more sombre one, but as he pulled out a sheet of paper and began contemplating precisely what he would write, he realized. If a scenario did happen where this would be necessary, he wouldn't be around for it. Which was oddly comforting, he brandished his pen once again and began writing.

'_If you are reading this, then I didn't make it…'_

* * *

**Sonia & Hajime**

"Then that one is Hercules! A demi-god who is renowned for his marvellous adventures and his equally impressive strength!" Hajime watched Sonia's eyes sparkle as she retold each story. Her childlike wonder when it came to something she was interested in, was something to behold. Her positivity, her energy, her optimistic outlook it was so… comforting. Seeing someone have so much fun over something he would usually take for granted.

"Hajime?" Sonia squeezed his hand.

Hajime got distracted by her and began thinking rather than listening. He began to feel guilty when he realized he they were holding hands. Their fingers interlocked in-between one another.  
'W-when did this happen?' Hajime couldn't recall when they started holding hands. He determined it must have just happened naturally.

"Sorry… I got distracted." Hajime left out what he was distracted by.

"I am sorry. I must be boring you."

"Not at all! I think the whiskey might be getting to me more than I thought." Hajime picked up his glass, which was now almost empty. He winked in her direction before drinking the last bit. He despised the taste but didn't want to look like a wimp, so he did his best to disguise his contempt towards it.

Sonia picked up her glass too and smiled. She was already on her second serving. The dark liquid encompassing a little over half of the crystal-clear glass. Unlike Hajime, Sonia enjoyed the intense flavour. Taking a swill and sloshing it around her mouth, chapping her lips together before finally swallowing and letting out a satisfied "ahh", each time she finished.

"I must admit, my head does feel lighter than usual." Sonia carefully placed the glass in a small nook she made in the grass by parting it. "Hey, Hajime…" Sonia lifted her hand towards the sky as if grasping at the stars themselves.

**"The Future can be anything we make it.  
Do you still believe that?"**

It took Hajime a second to realize what she was talking about but eventually put it together. She was referencing what he said the last time they were under the stars together.

"I do." Hajime gave her hand a small squeeze as he spoke.

"Hajime, I wish to ask you a question, and I need you to be completely honest. Can you do that?" Sonia's words were timid and soft.

"Yeah, what is it?" Hajime replied, without hesitation.

"… **Do you… do you believe Chiaki would hate me if she were still with us?" **

There were many uncertainties in Hajime's life. Ever since waking up in front of a classroom door in the middle of nothing, his life had been a non-stop barrage of misadventures, heartache and confusion. The future was uncertain, now even the past was dubious with not knowing if he remembers all his time as Kamukura. One thing he could be sure of however was one girl's feelings. Not because he believes himself to know this girl so well he could answer for her, not because of such a deep bond he would understand what she was thinking but because what Sonia was asking was so far from Chiaki's true nature that it was so implausible it may as well been impossible.

"Not a chance. Not in a million years would she hate you, Sonia."

Sonia didn't reply. She continued to clutch her arm towards the stars as if inviting them to pull her away. Hajime couldn't help but squeeze her hand tighter feeling as if he was losing her.

"No… that was a stupid thing for me to ask. I have a better question." Sonia stopped reaching towards the sky and placed a closed fist on her chest. He could feel her hand beginning to tremble as she mustered the nerve to ask her question.

"I killed her parents… they died awful, horrible, tragic deaths because of me. The girl you said you may be loved, your best friend, I destroyed any kind of legacy she had. **Hajime, do you hate me?"**

_Words echoed in his mind,  
a melancholic sentiment,  
a request,  
an offer,  
__**Take  
The  
Plunge**_

In his mind, Hajime thanked the whiskey for giving him the liquid confidence for what he was about to do.

'Deep breathes Hajime…' He mentally prepared himself one last time before taking action.

In one precise and careful action, he whipped his body around and above Sonia. She flinched, her face going a bright red at suddenly having him above her body. He could feel her heartbeat increase through the palms of his hands and smiled.

"I've never hated you, Sonia. I don't think there's been a single time I've even been mad at you. The truth is…"

Sonia's eyes were wide and unblinking. Her breathing hot and heavy. This quickly turned into a situation that Sonia did not predict.

"**The truth is, I'm crazy about you."**

"W-wh..." Sonia's voice was high pitch and shocked, but before she could verbalize all of her confusion, she found the warm press Hajime's lips against hers.

* * *

**Fuyuhiko**

"Why do I have to be such a fucking asshole!" Fuyuhiko started punching his mattress with his full force multiple times until he was out of breath.

"She was just trying to help…" Fuyuhiko mumbled as he panted.

"Goddammit, I need to find her, don't I? Well, where the fuck would she be?" Fuyuhiko explored a few different possibilities. "The restaurant? Her cabin? The beach?"

They all seemed likely, but then he remembered why he was going to see her in the first place. He's pretty sure he upset her and so, who would she see for comfort that wasn't him?

Fuyuhiko jabbed his bed one last time before running out the door.

* * *

**Sonia & Hajime**

"NO! NO! NO! GET OFF ME!" Sonia screamed as she punched her fists into his chest.

"W-what's wrong!?" Hajime recoiled into a kneeling position letting Sonia move away freely. She slapped him across the face before staggering onto her feet.

"Y-you… you can't!" Sonia was beginning to ball her eyes out. She dug her nails into her biceps as she hugged herself. Her movements were frantic and clumsy as she yelled. "You hate me! You have to! You can't… you just cannot…"

"What are you talking about!?" Hajime yelled back.

Sonia began to breathe in and out faster and faster until Hajime realized she was starting to have a panic attack.

"Sonia… just breath okay! We'll figure this out!"

Somehow him saying that seemed to upset her more, her face scrunching up into a wrinkled mess of emotions. "I… I don't deserve this… you must despise me! You…" Sonia's breathing grew faster.

"Sonia!"

"I… I…" Sonia felt lightheaded. **"I do not deserve happiness."**

With those departing words, she passed out.

* * *

**Mahiru & Yuki**

Yuki awkwardly turned the door handle with the back of his hand. Revealing a pitch-black room on the other side. He fumbled around for the light switch before finding it and turning it on to unveil the contents of the cabin.

"So yeah. This is your room Mahiru." Yuki repositioned her on his back as he awkwardly squeezed the two of them through the doorway.

"Oh, it's… different. Not in a bad way, though." Mahiru commented.

He squatted down, letting Mahiru off his back and onto the edge of the bed. Once done, he handed her the walking cane.

"T-thanks for giving me a piggyback here…" Mahiru awkwardly said.

"No problem!" Yuki smiled back with such wholesome delight it made Mahiru smile also.

"I'm sure you're exhausted, so I'll let you get some sleep but are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" Yuki asked.

"I'll be fine! Really! I just… **I'm really tired.**"

Yuki crossed his arms and gave her a sceptical look still unsure about this. He tapped his foot, trying to think of any alternative options. Eventually, he begrudgingly sighed. "Alright, fine. Just… don't do anything stupid, okay? I'll come to get you in the morning."

"T-thanks… you don't have to get me in the morning. I can make my own way back." Mahiru timidly offered.

"Nonsense!" Yuki cheerily skipped towards the door. "**I won't leave you hanging.** Also, if you need anything..." Yuki pointed across the way to the opposite cabin from her own. "I'll be right over there."

Mahiru's eyes lit up. It was surprisingly comforting knowing someone would be so close. "Thanks, Yuki… **for everything**."

Yuki smiled back, closing the door halfway, "No problem and remember. Don't worry about the stuff with Fuyuhiko or anything, you shouldn't feel guilty about it."

"…Thanks." Mahiru solemnly replied. With one final confirming nod, Yuki shut the door leaving Mahiru alone with her thoughts.

…

Ten minutes passed of Mahiru just sitting at the edge of her bed, staring at nothing. Letting the events of the day wash over her. It was all so insane and hard. With a heavy sigh and heave, she rested her body weight on the cane and wobbled over to her dresser, changing out of her clothing into fresh underwear and a more comfortable shirt. She lay down on her bed and felt tears start to swell in the corners of her eyes. She hastily and forcefully wiped them away.

"Don't cry… don't you dare cry…"

She tried to put on a brave act for Yuki and the others, but the truth was she wasn't okay, she was far from it. She was killed, she learnt she was a mass-murdering psychopath with a broken body, all her friends and family are dead, she already got in a fight with two people, Hiyoko didn't make it and the cherry on top of this shitty day was that she couldn't even admit that the last thing she wanted to be right now, was alone.

'**I'm awful… I'm the worst… I… I…**

**I hate myself.'**

* * *

**Fuyuhiko & Akane**

Fuyuhiko leaned against the doorway to the pod room. He could see Akane staring down at a pod, the palm of her hand up against the glass. "I thought I would find you here…"

Akane kept still, only darting her eyes to see him before looking back down. "Hey. Come over here."

Fuyuhiko dawdled over while speaking, "look Akane… I'm sorry if what I said upset you, I didn't mean it, it's jus…" Fuyuhiko was interrupted when he peered into the pod Akane was standing over to find it wasn't Nekomaru's but Peko's. "Huh!? What are you doing with her?"

"Hehehehe!" Akane's smile was massive and cocky, which frightened him just a little. He thought she was upset. "You jealous?"

"What, no!" Fuyuhiko grunted.

"Well…" Akane scratched at her chin. "I was here to see Nekomaru, but your girl here gave me an idea."

Fuyuhiko furrowed his eyebrow and glared at her. Not following whatsoever.

"What you said about still blaming yourself even because of your upbringing… well… it made me blame myself as well." Akane's smiled weakened but didn't vanish.

"Oh, Akane… look I-" Akane raised her palm in front of his face cutting him off mid-sentence before continuing. "But that's when this silver-haired beauty made me realize something. She's the real victim of abusive parenting here. Tell me Fuyuhiko, do you believe becoming a tool was her choice and not one unfairly placed upon her by your parents?"

Fuyuhiko had no idea how to respond to that. Her point was so undeniably correct you couldn't argue against it. He placed his hand on the pod next to hers and stared upon her unconscious face.

"Here's another question for ya." Akane patted him on the back. "You were upset that my feelings for you haven't changed one bit, even though I know you killed someone. Well, do you think she would care?"

Fuyuhiko scoffed, grabbing onto the temple of his nose and shaking his head. "Jesus Christ. Yeah, no. I don't think she would."

"Right!" Akane shouted before continuing talking with a significant amount of arrogant inflection in her voice. "So, with those two points combined, we can successfully deduce that-!"

"I'm an idiot." Fuyuhiko sighed.

"Yes, you are!" Akane tapped the glass of the pod twice with her knuckles. "Thanks for your help Peko!" Akane merrily strolled over to the side of the room and leaned against the wall.

Fuyuhiko remained by Peko's side for a little while longer. His entire mentality was turned upside down in mere moments when the same comparison was made with her. He asked himself.

'Can I forgive myself for what I've done?'

…

…

No…'

But he could admit that his upbringing was at least party to blame for how he turned out. Although for someone like Peko, it was solely to blame. His determination was resolved once again, that he wanted to give her a better life no matter what.

He heard Akane's deep breaths across the room and realized there was another person that wasn't to blame.

"Hey, Akane…" Fuyuhiko walked over and stood directly in front of her. He looked over her face to see her warmly smiling back. "You're the best. Thank you. Seriously. Thank you."

Akane was surprised to hear such a solemn thanks come from Fuyuhiko; she went to reply, but before she could, he continued.

"**You were upset, weren't you? Listen. What happened to you is fucked up, and honestly, I can't really begin to imagine the hell you were subjected to, but at the same time, that's just it. You were subjected to it, don't blame yourself for a second for what happened to you. It's not your fault."**

Akane stood there, speechless. She enjoyed this whole cocky act of pretending she knew better than him but hearing him earnestly comfort her it made her feel like a bit of an asshole.

"Oh…" She was also surprised he was able to discern what she was upset about so effortlessly. "Thanks… you ah… you're alright too."

Fuyuhiko chuckled. "Only alright, huh? Not the best?"

Akane laughed as she wrapped her arm around him as they left the pod room together. "Pfft, the best? Na you're like a solid 7.5/10, eight at best."

"Shit… an eight? I'll take it."

Fuyuhiko smirked.

Akane smirked back. "Now let's get that mess of fur you call hair shaved down. You got 'a look good for this one when we wake her up tomorrow!"

**Sonia & Hajime**

Warm and fuzzy. That's what Sonia felt.

She could hear the pitter-patter of rain on a tin roof. A fluffy blanket wrapped around her and a warm shoulder she was lying against. Still, in a daze, Sonia opened her eyes to see the warm orange glow of a streetlight nearby. She looked around her environment, trying to ascertain where she was. Four half walls surrounded her, with windows placed in the upper half. It was a small room of sorts, only a couple meters wide and maybe around five meters across, she estimated.

Sonia wasn't sure, she certainly wasn't in a cabin. Over the sound of the rain, she could hear the crashing of the ocean waves nearby. She strained her neck upwards to see out the windows and saw a recognizable landmark – the dock.

"Hey…" Hajime's voice was raspy and quiet.

Sonia rubbed some sleep from her eyes before realizing just how tired she felt. Apart from the streetlamp, it was pitch black outside, and the rain was howling down around them.

"W-what happened?" Sonia scratched at her head.

"It started raining shortly after you passed out, but what I hadn't planned for when I suggested this little trip was just how dark it would be. Because of the cloud cover and next to no lights on this island, it was pitch black. So being slightly drunk and with little time, I just followed the path as best I could, and we ended up at the dock. We're in some little guard post now at the end of the pier."

Hajime's voice was tired but calm. He didn't sound upset or angry.

"How did I get here?" Sonia looked up to see Hajime staring down at her with a warm, cozy smile.

"Oh, that?" Hajime chuckled. "I carried you!"

"… YOU WHAT!?"

"Yeah…" Hajime, now apprehensive, did his best to shrug it off like it was no big deal. "I wrapped you up in the rug like a little Sonia-burrito so you wouldn't get wet and made it over here."

Sonia quickly ran her fingers through her hair to find that was bone dry, it seemed he was telling the truth. She then noticed Hajime's shirt was wet and hair damp. Sonia's mind began to race.

'He went out of his way to make sure I was safe, warm and dry even though… even though I yelled at him. He carried me all the way here in the dark and rain just because… he… he is… that kind of person.'

"NO!" Sonia recoiled away from him, this unbelievable guilt gnawing away at her insides. She struggled out of the blanket, banging and knocking into Hajime and the walls as she did so. Once free, she scurried away, backing herself away into a corner like a frightened animal.

"STOP THIS! PLEASE! IT HURTS!... IT HURTS SO MUCH!" Sonia cried furiously. Her entire body tense and shaking.

Hajime remained calm; he had a lot of time to think while Sonia was unconscious, so he was prepared for this kind of reaction. He didn't say anything; he wasn't sure what to say.

"You…" Sonia slid down the wall into a sitting position. She hugged her knees, hiding her face from Hajime behind them. "I do not deserve this. I am awful. I… I should not feel this kind of happiness. You should hate me, Hajime. Please… please hate me."

With a relieved sigh Hajime now understood what was going on, since he went through something similar only a few nights ago.

"Hey, Sonia… you shouldn't feel guilty for being happy."

Slowly… Sonia uncovered her face from behind her knees. Revealing a puffy red face with tears in the corners of her eyes.

"No! … this…. was not supposed to happen. This should be our penance, our suffering to make up for our sins. I…" Sonia gritted her teeth. She couldn't find the words to describe her feelings or at the very least, didn't want to. Finally… as all her muscles tensed, her face going bright red with a mix of embarrassment and anger, looking like she was about to burst. She finally shouted at the top of her lungs what she didn't want to admit.

"**I should not be having all this fun when so many have suffered!"**

"**I should not have so many incredible friends when we took them away from others!"**

"**And most of all…"**

"**I should not be falling in love!"**

Sonia slammed a closed fist onto the glass with all her might making it crack slightly around the place of impact.

"I am truly a **disgusting** person for feeling this way."

And with that one last statement, she collapsed in a heap on the floor utterly tired and defeated by her own self-hatred and guilt. "How could someone be crazy for filth like me…?"

…

…

…

"Sonia." Hajime blankly stated.

Sonia was briefly brought out of her dark trance to look him in the eye.

"I don't want to ever hear you talk about yourself that way again."

Hajime stood up triumphantly, the fuzzy blanket coiling off him as he did so. He was a significant, strong presence when compared to the collapsed and defeated Sonia on the floor. He approached with loud footsteps until he crouched down in front of Sonia. She looked afraid and broken, a husk of this positive, cheery and naïve person he had come to love. He couldn't stand seeing her this way, and he wasn't going to stop until that incredible person came back.

He embraced Sonia – wrapping his arms under her armpits with one hand placed on her shoulder and the other in her mess of hair. Sonia struggled against him, trying to push him off.

"No! Did you not listen to anything I said! I do not deserve someone like you!"

"Well, too bad!" Hajime shouted. "I meant what I said. I'm crazy about you Sonia Nevermind! I've never loved someone as much as I do right now! So, I'll never let you go!"

"I am trash! I am dirt! I am filth! I am a **monster**!" Sonia shouted back, still struggling against his embrace.

Hajime took a deep breath ready for whatever was to come.

"Chiaki would still love you!" He felt Sonia's struggling weaken ever so slightly. "I know ever since you fought with Mahiru that's been the only thing on your mind. That you hurt someone so dear to you and you have no idea how you could ever forgive yourself. Or more accurately, how Chiaki would forgive you."

Hajime brought her in closer, putting his cheek next to hers.

"This is the wonderful, incredible, amazing, thoughtful and kind Chiaki Nanami we are talking about. I know you can't believe it, but please Sonia, believe me. Believe me that you deserve love, that you deserve happiness and that Chiaki would feel the exact same way."

Sonia ceased struggling, dropping her arms to her sides.

"How do you know? How could you possibly know what she would think?" Sonia whispered.

"I just do but… remember what we said…" Hajime leaned away to face her. A warm, cozy smile beamed right at her. "We're going to save her, right? Maybe you could just ask her yourself."

Sonia's eyes went wide before she forcefully closed them as she still fought against her pain.

"I don't understand you, Hajime. Why do you even like me? I am a complete and utter mess. I am ugly and deformed, I can be naïve and awkward, I can sometimes be arrogant and bossy, I…"

"**You – are Sonia Nevermind. That's what you said, wasn't it?"**

Sonia nearly choked on her words… "Y-you… remember that?"

Hajime leaned back into a cross-legged position. He held both of Sonia's hands in his lap and looked deeply into her eyes as he spoke.

"I love the way that you can get so excited over the most trivial things.

I love how you are always so kind and thoughtful to those around you.

I love how whenever you walk into a room, it brightens up, and everyone seems happier.

I love how even though you try to keep up appearances, it sometimes slips, and you look like the biggest idiot."

Hajime placed an index finger in on the middle of her forehead.

"I love how whenever your laughing you get this crease in between your eyebrows, I don't know why but it's just the cutest thing.

I love that you try to use slang but fail miserably.

I love that you can make me laugh.

I love how much fun I have with you.

I love so many things about you, Sonia, that it would take me all night and I still wouldn't get through it all and yet… I want to know more about you.

Like what's your favourite colour?

What's your favourite animal?

What's your favourite food!?

I'm crazy about you Sonia, the good and the bad."

Sonia was speechless.

She had never been so happy in her entire life.

Because of that, she felt the guilt come back and start to eat away at her once again.

But as she stared back into Hajime's eyes, his kind, caring eyes. Not a hint of ill will or ulterior motives behind them. She truly felt…

**Loved**

And if someone as amazing as him could really feel that way about her then well… maybe just maybe…

"I like you too…" Sonia whispered into his ear.

Whenever Sonia imagined herself confessing to a boy, she never in a million years would have thought it would be like this but now that she was here, experiencing this incredible moment. She wouldn't want it any other way.

Sonia was scared, she knew this was no fairy tale, and they weren't going to get a **happily ever after,** but she didn't care. With Hajime at her side, and her at his, she felt like they could take on the world.

She pressed her lips against his. Time suspended, she felt as if she was in a dream. A happy one. One that she would never want to awaken from.

The kiss was admittedly sloppy though… and a little awkward, but it was theirs, and it was something she would cherish forever.

Her first guilt-free kiss with her boyfriend but that's when she realized…

"Wait!" Sonia interrupted the moment, her chipper positive attitude suddenly back as if it had never left. "Hajime Hinata! You have never formally asked me out!"

Hajime darted his eyes around, trying to think through everything that happened. "I mean… I guess not, but you know… I confessed to you and…" Hajime gulped. "You confessed to me, so, therefore…"

"Poppycock!"

"Poppycock!?"

"Poppycock!" Sonia sliced her hand through the air. "I am an old-fashioned woman Hajime; therefore, you must abide by proper etiquette!"

Sonia repositioned herself into a dignified kneeling position like that of an emperor. She wiped some loose strands of hair from her face before nodding and putting on the 'queenliest' expression he had ever seen on her.

"Oh jeez…" Hajime didn't like this idea. He had a harder enough time confessing before, and that's when he was far drunker. As he slowly sobered up, it became more and more awkward to admit his feelings, but… for her. He'd do anything.

"Will you go out with me?"

Without missing a beat, Sonia replied.

"Sorry! I do not swing that way!"

"Eh…" Hajime's soul left his body as his mind went blank.

Sonia giggled. "I am just joking! I would be delighted to!"

Hajime breathed a massive sigh of relief. They snuggled back under the blanket having been uncovered for a while now and beginning to feel the cold. Some time passed as they awkwardly half cuddled, somehow it was now a lot more awkward since they were 'official'.

"Green," Sonia whispered under her breath.

"Huh?"

"Green. Green is my favourite colour. What about you?"

Hajime couldn't help but smile a big and dumb grin.

"It's blue."

Sonia smiled to herself, "that's a nice colour."

Surrounded by thundering rain and darkness, they snuggled up to each other beneath the blanket. With the orange hue of the streetlight illuminating them, they slowly but surely drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The island was dark tonight. The man could only see a **subtle tinge of orange near a dock**. Otherwise, the rest was pitch black. He couldn't help but wonder if anyone remained, maybe they somehow left before the storm. But he didn't particularly care for hypotheticals, he'd find out soon enough.

As he watched the rain crash down around him, it was euphoric, he had been waiting years for this moment; finally, the ultimate despairs were within his grasp. It wouldn't be much longer now until they would have to pay for all their sins.

He was leaning on a brick wall on the side of a massive gathering hall. Only a small tin roof on the outside of the building keeping him dry. Hundreds of survivors gathered together to stay safe from the storm. He didn't care much for people. They were tedious and tiring, but most of all… they'd be dead soon enough, and he was done saying goodbye to people he cared about. There was only one thing he lived for now, and he was staring right at. The orange light being a candle of hope in this world of misery, a promise of all the vengeance he could possibly muster being served to him on a silver platter.

Patting around his jacket's pocket, he sighed to find only two cigarette's left on him. He reminded himself to get some later. Taking a match out his pocket and taking a step away from the rain, he lit it.

"You the guy?"

He heard a voice behind him. A stoic and cold one. He turned around to find a tall, well-built man approaching him with a slight limp.

"Maybe. Who are you?" The man with the cigarette replied.

"Name's **Juro**, told you were looking for a crew?"

The man looked Juro up and down, he had a limp, and he was young but… he looked strong, and his eyes were full of hate. He'd do nicely.

"I am, you interested?"

"Yeah, what's it gonna cost?" Juro now confident in his position leaned against the wall next to the man but maintained a reasonable distance. There was no way he was going to trust him.

"That depends… if we're after different people, then nothing."

Juro squinted, looking at the cigarette wielding man. He was tall, young, muscular and attractive but he had a look in his eyes that if you made one wrong move, he'd slit your throat.

"And if we are?" Juro asked dubiously.

The man faced him, a burning fire behind his gaze. "Then you're not coming."

Juro scoffed and spat on the ground. "You want all the revenge for yourself, huh?"

"Bullshit." The man snapped back. "I just want one of them. Everyone else can have the rest."

"Wait so there's more than just me?"

The man rolled his eyes before taking a couple steps closer and blowing a cloud of smoke into Juro's face. "Who do you want…?" His words were slow and serious.

Juro considered lying, maybe inquiring whose everyone else's was first and then say he had a different target. Then again if he did lie and went after someone else, he could get turned on. He figured, for now, he'd play his cards straight.

"Akane Owari."

The man snickered. "Well then, looks like we might have room on the boat after all. Welcome aboard, Juro."

Juro breathed a sigh of relief. Seems, for now, he could rely on this man.

"Whoop de do… when we leaving?"

The cigarette wielding man handed him a dirty napkin, on it was a date time and location. "Don't bring anything, we'll provide it all. Tell anyone about this and well…"

"Yeah, I don't need the peep talk, heard this shit a hundred times before." Juro interrupted in a condescending tone. Oddly enough, the man smiled with a slight nod of approval.

"Great, now get out of here before anyone notices us speaking."

Juro nodded, taking one last glance of the island before starting to walk away, but before he did, there was one last thing he wanted to know.

"Who you after?"

The man smiled snidely.

"Not Akane, so don't you worry. Now get the fuck out of here, I've got others I'm expecting."

"At least tell me your name…"

"Hmm," The man thought for a moment. He didn't want his name associated with this. It might come to bite him in the ass in the future. "Just call me… **Sparkling Justice**."

**The storm had finally arrived.**


	14. The Days Fall Apart

"H̶̨̛́́͂â̵̩͈̜̺̪͖͕̙̰̇̈́̌̀̓̓͋͛͌j̴̧̛̹͈̃̃̄́̍̑̊͋̓͐̈̐̚͝ï̴̛͙̦͖̠̖͓̯͖̟̓̅̽͜͝m̵̦̬͍̪͕̘̜̄͐͛̿̅̈͋͗͝ĕ̸̲̱̮̹̂́́̔̀̏͂̒̕̚̕̕͠ … can you hear m̴̼͆͂̊͂̂̉̓̈̇̚̕E̶͔̩̤͆̇̐͝?"

"There's ĩ̴͍̝̮͉̯͔͗̃̾͋̌̚n̴͇͍̦͔̰͚̆̈́̾̆̀̍̐̾́͘͘͜͝t̴̟̰͕͈̹̥͖̥̺́̎͐͐͌͗͗̉̈́̒̈́͝ͅḛ̸̡̧̧̮̰̳͕͚͚̻͆̅̃͛́̐̈́̿́̕͝ͅṛ̷̛̖̜͒͆̉̃̅̊̾͐̇̈͝ͅf̴̳̼̥̦̫̬̈́̿͊̓̉̓̾͂̔̔̑̌͘͝͝e̵̡̡̛͓̦̗̹̙̪̻̟̙̞̫͇̖̋̈̎̍̀͊̇̽̈́̚͝͝ṛ̸̥̐̂̈́̌͌͌́̒̏é̵̜̪͔͎͚̂͋̿̃͌̾̏͛̐̈́̉̚n̴͓̣͉͙̘͙̱͍̰̞͂̊̈̏̽̀̍̎̅̚͠c̸̡̲̗̙͛̌͒̂͌ȩ̷͇̖͇͍̩̲̝̬̫͗̌͛́̀͋͑̾͌…̴̨̧̯̣̱̯̥̠̟͎̙̈͂͐̅͆̌͊̀͊̍͋̈̆͠͠"

"I'm doing my best, but I don't know if it's good enough."

"There's s̵̟̗̱̑͋̓̀̽̈̒͌̐ͅ0̴̧͚̭̌W̶̟͚͍̣̋̆̊̈́̋̉ȇ̴͙͎̄͊͗̃͝t̵̩̙̦̿̓̈́̐̔͂̅͘͝ḧ̶̗͓̋̃1̴̗̩̠̍̓̈̾̅͝ń̴͕͎͕̙̣̔͐͋͝g̷̩̫̤̭̹͈̙̣̻̱̰͈̰̾̉̽̆͗̚͠ͅ he's h̵̡̡̧̡͕͖̻̩̮̯̹̬̉̎͐̇̆̋̋̓̾͘͘͜͝L̴̛͖̖̗͉̰͖̤̖̯̤̮͚͙̙̊̆̄̾͛̽̌͊̀͆͠d̵̡͎̦͍̘̼̻̣̈ͅ1̸̡̠̣̰̫̼͕̬͕̺̪̆̇ṋ̵̨̪̤͇̱͛̒̐́̑̀̇͌̕g̶̨̏ from you."

"He's trying to h̸̪͍̜̘̻̲̖͍̬̜̤̩̋͗̋K̷̨̧̨̟̜̱̩̞̱͈̫̞̥̲̫̀̋̃̾̐͂̚ǘ̶̧̨͓̯̗͉̘̠̄̆̐͂̊̃͗I̷̛̙̼̮̐͂̀r̷̞͍͉͖͓͈͉̪͔̖̩͔͒̓̈́̑̿̽̑́͑L̵̛͍̝̦͖̳̜̤͑̒̚͝t̷̤͇̂̏̇͒̆͗́͑͘Ļ̶̯̟̜̱̱̗̞̣͖̲̩̭̂͗͛̉̽̂̐̍̇͒̓̓̚ you, but we might be able to use this to our A̷̧̱̟͓͍̼̮͍͖̯̾̉̒͊̑ͅď̷̜͐̃̉̓͌͆̎̎͌̄̋͝v̴̡̯̲͊̒̋̒̋̏͗̎̒̒́̍͘͘͝A̵̢̫̱̩̤̞͖̦͋͑́͑̿̊̀̊̽̈́́̈̚͝n̷̡͚̰̺̉̈́̆̉͛́͋̕͝ţ̷̟̖̓̇̑̿͊̋͌͐̚̕Ą̵̧̹̩̠̯̣̼͙̞̺̥̞͙̀̾̏̓ͅg̶̩͔͚̠̻͔̝̟͖̯͎͂̑̄̿̊̏̈́̋͆̋͐͐̕ḛ̸̪̥̪̱̹̮̩͐̆̈́͂̆͑̀̓̕."

"I'm sorry. I can't q̶̙̘̞̭́̃́͆̔̎̍͗͑̄̐̔͜ͅr̷̜̩̥̭͓̲̊̃̊̃͆̍͘͝O̶̰̥͚̪̔͛̚͜͝O̴̧̡̻̙̣̫̎̉͂O̴̡̨͚̫̞͉̙͖̰͉̫̗̣͖͈̓̎̎͌̎̈́̓̏͘̚̕͝Ȯ̶̖̫̖̭͖͉̟̝̥t̵̢̝̪̠̻̹̲̙̲͌͑̎e̸̛͉̒͐̇͋̈c̶̢̘̫͙̼͓̗͒͐ẗ̵̢̮̦̞̭͉͉͈̥̮̲͋̈́̓̓́͛̓͗ you from him."

"Just survive."

* * *

Hajime woke up in a daze. A dazzling bright light shining upon his closed eyelids.

"Wh…what was that. A memory? A dream?" Hajime had a splitting headache, his head feeling like it had just been stuffed full of… something.

Opening his eyelids, he was surprised to find that there was no storm. It was a bright sunny day with not a cloud in sight. Only small puddles littering the ground being the only evidence that it even rained.

Still waking up, he wiped down his face with the palm of his hand but found that it was wet. He looked down to see a sickly hue of red covered his hand and everything in his proximity.

**Blood.**

It stained his surroundings; he was in a pool of it. Worst of all…

**Sonia was gone.**

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Hajime leapt to his feet. Blood splashing around him as he did so. In abject horror Hajime recoiled, crashing backwards. His body hurdling through the glass of the half window and falling into a bloody puddle outside. As his back hit the dirt, he could feel shards of glass pierce his spine, bones and muscles like knives. One unfortunate piece digging its way into the back of Hajime's jaw. He could feel it pierce the bottom of his mouth, going through his flesh and cut his tongue.

Feeling a foreign object in his mouth his throat tightened, his lungs panicked, causing him to cough repeatedly, the glass digging itself deeper with each splutter of blood and spit expelled from his mouth.

He clutched at this chin, feeling the shard firmly lodged between his oesophagus and jawbone. His mind couldn't begin to comprehend everything that just happened, only being able to focus on the unbelievable pain coursing through his body.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**" Hajime screamed in agony.

With quick breaths and massive heave, Hajime made his way onto his feet. One hand clutching his back like an old man, the other carefully holding the piece of glass lodged into his mouth.

There was only one thing that he was focused on besides the pain and misery, and that was what was going on.

Taking a quick scan of the scene he could see a small stream of blood dripping from the building he was in. Following it with his eyes he could see it continue down the sand path, the blood becoming lighter in colour as its density lessened. There was nowhere else to go, nothing but blood remained here, so Hajime followed the bloody stains down the sand path. He started but before he could continue, a sudden migraine brought him to a screeching halt.

* * *

There was only a limited window, this was the last chance he would get to see h̸̛̯͈̫̫͍͌̄̀̀͗͆̓̈́̂͗̌͝3̸̗͕̟̘̹͇̯͊͑̒̓̇Ŗ̶̙͉̮̯̺́̽͑̆̔̎̿̽̾̓̉̈́̇̚̚ͅͅ. To finally confirm his suspicions of just what she wanted to accomplish.  
He waited in the main gym hall, legs dangling off the edge of the stage waiting for her to arrive. S̷̢̺̳̺̗͗̽͂͗͑̀͒̌̋͌̎̐̋͌̍͆̀͐͑̃͆̈́͘͘͝ḩ̶͉͙͓͖̏͐́͗̂͊̈́̑̓̐͒̏̌̑̓͂͋̀̈̀͛̀̇͠͠ȩ̷̛̤̠͍̳̥̖̹̙̫̫͍̜͑̍͛̓̋̀͑͑̂̑̒̃̚̕͜͝ was never one to keep a schedule.

"K̴̨̢̠̲̤͉̽̆̄͋̾͘Ǎ̸̢̺̥̩͇͕̳̜̳̺̅̈́́̇M̵̨̻͍̺̖͓̯̥̪͚̗̬̭̈́͛͂̀̈́U̵̩̳̒͆́̽̑K̶̯̀͆̔̓͛͜Ứ̶̧̖͉̣̰̼͖̪̱͈̮̍͘͜͝ͅͅŖ̷̢̢̡̗̩̝̤̙͙̫̳̳̱͂͛̍̐͑̓̎̎̐͝Ă̴͚̣̘̯̭̠̗̬̣͖̯͈̜͇͆͊̔͑̊̒̈́͒̅͆͘͘͝ͅ ̵̨̧̰͚̖̣͉̦̫̳̤͎͛ͅḨ̶̱̯̭̉͑̉͊̚A̵̧̛J̴̡̲̝̹̩̏͛̇̀͌̑Ỉ̷̢̡̝̻̝̠͈̉́̓̾͂͂̈́̊̋͛̈́̌̂͜M̶̛͈͇̥̫̩̗̈́̊̃͛̒E̵̜̰̜̳͓͙̠̯̻̮̪̼͐̀̈̌͐̄̀̋̋͛͑̚͜͝͝ ̵̺̭̥̻͔̉̀̆́̚ͅͅK̸̦̲̤̉̊̍̾̉̀̿̈́̔̕͝͠Á̴̡̻̝̭̻̥̮̭̳͓̹̳̭͎́̑̀̏̈̋̈́̌́̍͘͘͝ͅM̶͈͚̬͙̳͑̅̊̀̌̓̔̈́́͜͠Ụ̴̭͍̥̫̥͉̞͍̬̊̆͋Ḱ̵͙̼̱̏͒͛Ų̷̩͒̑͒̅̂̒͂̚͝R̶̭͕̓͐͐̍̂̉̾̎͂̆̚̕͝Ạ̸̥̳̺̮̞͙̞̙̼͙͈̅̃̾͘!"

He could hear her shrill voice coil and echo in the chamber as she approached.

"Oh darling! This will be the l̸̝̹̠̪͖̳͙͉̪͙͉͚͇̭̲̮͙͎͕͊̅̈́̇̈́͛̐̾͂͗͜F̷̨̢̧̧͔͕̟̱͉̻̱͔̭̳̝͚̪̱̑̽͒̅̈͋͛̾̎̀̐̓͐̌͊̈̏͜͜͜a̷̧̢̡̘̖͇̺̞͈̯̺͕̻̻͂̀̿̏͊̉̅́͗̍̎̈̕͠Î̶̡̡͚͍͍̰̗͕̠̻̟̦͈̉͛͐̃̈̀̾̅̀̔̈̑͘̕͜͝ş̶̛̼͇̩̗̰̘̪̬͖͕͉͓̞̺̘̦̳̝͉̮̀ͅR̵̨̧̧̢̛̻͓̟͖̺̞̟̩͚̳͈̝̟̝̻͙͙̪̽̀͑̑͋͛̊̀̋͋͗̓̍̓͆t̷̨̧̞̪̜̥̗̹̣̮͙̥̻̦͔̩̥̽͐̂̆̉͒͋̈̄̐̈́́̎̾̕͝ͅŞ̷̢̢͓̻̻̲̠̲̤͔̮̯̱̻͍͔͈̣̙̅Ṫ̷̖͎̼̝̤̫̓̅̇͐̋̊͒̈́̐̕͝ͅ time we see each other for some time! Tell me, are you entertained!?"

The ǫ̶̧̠̟̪͓͍͉̖̭̯̙̣̿̈́̈̇̓͑̈́̄́͒̅͋͘͝͠ť̵̡̨̧̩̘̞̳̰̝̪̫̣̺͕͎͈̘̦̠͎̇̊̄͒̀̐̒̈̕ͅḩ̶̮̻̠̜̩̭̦̪̥̗̰̆̄̒̉̀͝e̶̡̦͇͓͍̳̤͖̜̪̠̪͉̟̳͖̒̈́̈́ͅr̵̖͔̟͚̩̺͗̓̈́̽̿̋͜Î̷̡̭̯̠̭̭̤̙͉̜̣̙̮̗̩̦̫̺͛̒̾̇̓͜K̴̖̭̟̳̞͍̀͛̽͋̾̿̎̀́̉̈́͘Ů̵̟̠̹̙S̵̡͈̭͕͍̟̫̭̒͑͆̑̐́̂̒͋̔̕͝A̵̛̞͕̳̻͕̖͆̂̂̄͐̀͛̈͒̂͘̕͠ͅͅB̸̞̱̥̣̺̩̘̘̻̣̗̹̑̀̌̋͑͠A̵̬̪͔̠̟̣͇̦͖̺̙̤͕̎́̄͝o̴̤͙͎̲͇͇̘̭͍̙̞̹͓̜̹̣̾̌͛̑̇̇̃͜͠ň̷̛͚͍̇͊͋̈́̎̇̈̌̈́͌̈͒̇̍̉͊͘͠ẻ̶̢̧̺̯͈͔͖͈͇͖̯̭̦̫͎̣͙͚̤̱͊̽̔͂́́̏̍͛̇͗̆͜͝ͅ ̶̢̥͈̥͖̥͉͉̰̰̤̥̱͈̞̹͒͋̐̔̓̌͌̿̽̈́͌̏͋̾͂̾͘̕̕͝ was nowhere to be seen, with a precise jump he flew off the stage and approached her.

"**Are y̴̪̪͓̹̖̋͌̍ó̵̢̗̬̹̅̋u̵̧͙̼̳̱̳̣̝̣͐̓̚͠?"**

"Kidding me?!" Saliva was seen spluttering from the corners of her mouth. She spat and recoiled as she spoke overcome with licentiousness. "The whole world is at each other's throats and it's all because of me! Ḑ̶͕̝̝̈̈́̄́̌̑̂̉̀͗̎̈́̚̕ę̶̧̫̹̥̪͍͙̜̟̳͊̉͗́5̴̖͈̦̼̊̓̀̾̅̈́͆͊p̸̨͓̖̹̭̩͎̤̣̩̱̰̀̒̀̔̏͛̓̋͐͛͒͘̕͠͝3̵̨͇̫̈̾̓̏̑̕͠a̶̧̛̛͚̬̤̲̙͎̯̹̱̟͆͗̏͊̊̊̊͊̒͜r̶̞̰͉͉͗́͆͑̈́͂̑̓̾̀͗̀ is king and society is falling apart at the seams, this is true C̸̛̞͍͙̺̺̩͈̤͇͓͆̆͌̓̊͛̍h̴̡̨̺̪͇̩͉̼̯̦̱̞̘͍̏͋̃̏̿͊̚͜A̸̧͙̻̓͐̀̌̓̚̚͝ǫ̴͉͈̞̗͍̭̫̪̺̻̖̻̌̔̄̎͆͑̿̌͐̇̈͌͘̚͝S̶̛͉͈̉̌͒̾, this is true é̶̼̘̊̽̃͆̔̋̉͠x̶̗̰͎̬͇̞͖̅̕c̶̨̡̡̛̭͕̲̹̻̼̲͕̮̩͈͍͕̬̓͆͊͌́̊̽̒̽͒̉̄́̏́̈́̋̕͘͘͜į̸̧̡͕̪̹͉̻͎̦̥̠̻̩̟͎̟̝̟̩̖̤̤̰̻̳̏̓͂̽̒̅̀́͑̊̈͗̃̈͐͋͋͊̎́͂̏̐͆̒t̷̛̙̗̾̽͂͂̀̍̍̅̐̀̆͗͊͌̒̇̉̃́̕e̶̢̢̼̲̙̖̥͛͋̏̉̈́̈̋̇̋̓̓̏͊͘͘͘͝ͅm̶̢̡͙̥̝͉̤͍͓͔̲͕͂͋̈́͆͗͜e̴̥̔́̀̉́̍́͂͂̓́̔̚͝͠͠n̴̺̤͖̻̩͙̣̬̳̝͓͖͓̗̈́͛̌̂̒̿͆̓́̕̚ẗ̶̨̡̛̲͕͓̘̳̖̝͓̣̩̟̭̣̬̹̥̹̬̳̠͚̟́͊̈̈́͛͒̄̎̓́̏̋̔͑̌͛̀̉̊̈́̓̉! You must agree?!"

"**What does ț̷̛͕̱̗͚̘͗̾̍͋̐̅̈́̈̀̉̕͜͝͝h̸̬̳̳̰̖͓͚͛̂̒͋̕ỉ̸̧̳̲̦̰̠̱̬͎͕͔̥̿̊̿̽͑̀̋̚̕s̷͖̥̒̒́́́ accomplish?"**

Her demeanour changed. Her face now blank, her body stiff and rigid. She spoke monotonously and with little effort. "The hell… it's just as I said, this is exciting. The world will be overcome with despair in a matter of weeks, hell days even."

"And?"

"… I don't get you."

"**Clearly not. It seems I was mistaken, if nothing but bloodshed was your end goal."**

Once again, s̵͉͓̩̪̥͉̦̹̦͈̞͎̰̠̔̽̂̀̌͊̽̊͛̆̐̏̉̀̑́͘̕͜ḩ̴̢̡̡̡̛͉̩͉̠̟͕̙̥͕̙̮̦̦̱͇͇͗̄̊̈́͊͒͛̽̏͂̿̀͐̔̑͐̈́͐̕͝ȩ̴̧̺̝̖̭̘̼̳̫͔͇̮͎͔͖̗̙͎̥̜̗͔͍͊̂̎̆͗͆̈́͆́̓̽̕͘͜ͅ ̴̡̢̨̛̞͓̰̖͍͙̗̝̜͖̦̠͎͉̗̫̳͖̥̫̭̔̆̏́͛̾͐͂͒̕ͅT̴̡̮͎̥͕̞̹̬̣͎̱̱̹̤̮̪̣̈́̄̚r̶̡̢̛̗͍̫̺͖͖̞͕̩͙̦̘͈̰͙̱͚̋̂̅̽̉̈͒̏̌́̍̋͂̑͛̋̈̾́͘͠͝ͅͅć̸̨͕̺͙̭̦͖̺̥̥͜h̶̢͙̰̘̰̚a̶̡̢̢͇̤̙̱̻͚̠͕̘͖͎͔̩̥̣̜̲͕͚͓͕̐̐ͅn̵̢̨̨̧̛̺͓̣̼̥̼̻͔͍͖̦̪͖̝̙̈̋͛̏̂̀͗̔͌̔̉̇̍̀̔͛͘͝͠͝͠ͅS̷̡̨̹̮̞̜̺͚̣̰͇̭̦͓̺͍̤̫͖͙͕̳̠͔͓̉̈̃̓̏͋̓͐̎͂̈́͋̄͗̋̾̽̚̚͝͠F̴̧̢̢̛̭̯̥̮̺̹̻̭̥̤̲̜͙̮̩̤̖̩̼͓̥̓̎͑̿͋͑̐̊͌͗̓͘͝͝ͅƠ̴̳̭͈͕͈̭̲̈́̋͐̂̑͛̍̐̏̑̉͆̕͝R̴̡̨̠͔̣͕̬̻͕̰͇̮̖͉̰̣͕͌̉̀̐̄̃͊̋̏̉̈́̎̈́͒̅̃͂́̕̕͜͠͝͝M̵̤̻̮̖̻̭̱̠͇̻̭͉̪̟̘̦͚͕͓̪̫̅̏͆̓́̆̀̒̊̀͆̀̇̑͆̌̌͛͘̚ͅȄ̸̢̘͎̟̠̭͓̮̻̬̠̦̗̳̬͇̟͎̭̳̋̎̆̏̇͜͝ͅD̴͎̝̺͙̦̂̔͛̓͐̿͊̍͒̄̂̋̀͛̉̅̋̇̑̊͐͜͠͝͝ņ̵̨̢̠̙͓̫̩̻̭͚̞̭̤̩͑̋͒́͝g̶̛̻̃̋̐̇͘e̷̢̛̱̤̱̓̈́͂̂̀̂́̈́̊̓́͑̌͋̂̆̀̿̕̚̕̚̕͠d̶̥͔̘̮̖̘̯͆̇̌͊̏̑̐͆̈́̽͑̍͊̄͒͂̋̒̔͊̽̚͝͝͠͠. Pouting and protruding her eyes, while imitating a cat or a puppy. Her voice was high pitch and inflection childlike.

"OH N̸̢̨̖̻͚͖̖̘̫͕̤̰̤͗͜Ỳ̴̜̬̟͓̝̺̫̤̳̝̰̋͒̄͒͒̒͝͝O̷̮͎̱͙̫̳̼͂̋! Is Kamukura not happy with me?! Does he not like what ẗ̸̡̖̟͍̦͉͕̫͙̟͙̖̟̟̫͇͉́͊̈́́͒̈́̈́̑̎͊̓̀̔̚M̸̡̪͎̓̒̾͂̎͆͒̐͗͑̑̔̀͌̏͋̋̆͗̆ͅͅh̵̢̛̪̯̥̹̮͍̙̫̭̹̘̻̬͉̮̟̝̀͆͋̕͝Y̴̡͙͎̪̳̻̼̠̏̀̾͒̿̐̀̑́͋͋̉̀͐̈́̊́͝͝ë̶͈̭̲͖͔̟͉̗̳̟͕͉͉̱́̋̈́̽͆̎̉̓̽͂̀̃͜͝͝͝ world has become?"

"**I see now. You're as delusional as the rest."**

"I don't 'k̵̢̛̠̺̻̪̖̈͛͊̊͋̒̉n̸̨̖͈̗̪͉̯̤̣͈̊̉ͅͅỳ̴̢̧̛̭̖͇̳̥̘̺̙͓͒́̌͌̎͆̐̌̔̕o̵̡̞̳̤̬̹̖̠̦̙̝̬͑͐̈́̏̏̅̅̈́͑̋̍̾̑̉͘w̴̨̨̖͔̳̰̟͕̦͉̬̍̿̊' about that!"

Kamukura went to walk past her, he was done here, but before doing so grabbed onto her left shoulder. It was as if with his touch Junko could feel her l̴̖̞̟͕̗̰͚̫̓̒̆̏͊͑̆̽̓̃̐̌̉̕͝1̴̡͚̣͓͔̟̭̗͈͖͓̒͒̌͑̋͝f̶̧̡̗̭̮̲͎̪̖̬̦̫̻̰́͒̐̉̓̑͐̀̐́̍͠E̸̛̛̛̲̹͙̻̙̙̞̺̻̰̼̻̱͋͆̾͛̓̑̐̅̂̐͋̎͋͗͝ͅ ̴̢̛̛̻̩͕̙̳̲̙͍̊̿͆̓̈̒͌ draining.

"**You disappoint me. You promised me something more than this but provided nothing but limited entertainment. You truly are… boring."**

"Oh… is that so?"

There it was, as close as she could be to her true colours. Behind her masks was a cold and calculating genius who now felt threatened.

"**̷̡̨̜̟̠̳̳͔̣̝͗̓̋̂̈͒̃̌̋̅͜͠ͅY̷̡̛͚̺̟̩̹̟͈͕̹̘̜̹̜̯̋̀̃̽̓̐͊̕͝ö̵̬̯̲̣̻͉̗͎̩̳̪͚̗̩̽̈̀̏̏̏͘͜u̵̢͉̰̰̣̜̜̲̙̐̍̀́͋̌̈́̊̾̈́͗̔̆̕͠ ̸̢͕̘̞̥͖̥̤̑̈́̿̋̏̅̅͛͘̚͝ẁ̸̨̨̨̬̺͔̯̤͓̮̞͔̤͙͈̈̃ǒ̶̳̫̣̘̬̭̭̳́̆̈́̂͋̀̂̑͂̌̽̚͠n̴̟̭̩͔͛̔̊̓̒̌̕͜'̵̛̛̬̫͈̖͈͚͐̎̑̽̈́͒̆̓͑̊̇̃̔ṯ̶̡͕̜̪̿̈́̔̒͛͂̎̍͘͠ͅ ̶̢̣͔͎̤͖̫̭̖̎͋͊̄͗̓̕l̶̡͓̾̽ẻ̴̛̲͉̞̎̿̍͐̀́̐͆̉͛͘͘ă̶̢͔̤̹̠̎̏̈̄̾̾͐̒̆̅̈́͠v̷̛̬̀̌͋̈̒͆̄̎̈́͛́͑̿̐e̸̲̲̖̹̜̝̲͙̝̿̾̊̈́̍̔̓́̕͝ ̷̛͖͇̘̗͈̺̐̔̀́̇̂̍̈́̚t̷͖͈̑̌̃́̀͘͜h̵̞͎̑͒̽̽̅̊i̵̢̦̠͈͇͉̥͋̐͛͂̒͋̔͆͐̕͝͠ș̴̭̻̣̞̠̬̯̗̤̩̯̟̿̽̌̾̇̓̓̎̾̈́͆̈̿̓͝ ̸̹̗̳̘̬̀̉̓̕s̴͎͖̠̟̽͐̚̚ͅḉ̴̖͕̺͈̹̯͕͈̆̀͑̔͑̆͂̿͑͐̈̈͝ḧ̸̺͎̝̬͉́ŏ̶̢̠̝̟͇͓̹͍͎͕͚͇͚̇̇̿̅̑̒͐̒̒̿͂͆͜ỏ̷̘͓̹́̉͑́̇̾̃̉͘̚͝͝l̸̡͚̘̮͓͎̮̙̜̤̐̽͐̀́͆͑̽̇̆͜ ̵̘͙̉͊͆̏́̄a̸̗͕̪̝̞͋̑̅̄͊́́̋̑͠l̷̡̡͙̣̗͉̞͔̫͙̠͕̩̱̜͗́̑̍̄̑̓͘͠i̶̡̢̳̙̳̞͔̖̣͕͚̼͖̦͋͊̄̂͛̄́͜v̶̳̪͙̺̑̀̌́͗̕ͅȅ̶̙͍͇̻̭͈̤͙̠̭̣͔̤̬̒̒͌̄̚.̸̢̺̘̣̫̺͙̬̱̜̠̰̼̓̓͆̂ͅ"̵̞̫̪̰̯̖̮̤̅̿̓̈́͑̄̉̐̉̕̚͜**

With that Kamukura went to leave, he heard Junko's shrill voice whine and yell but didn't even bother to ignore her. Going one step further to not even listen in the first place.

…

As Kamukura approached the vault door ready to leave, he found who he was looking for.

"W-woah, who are you?"

Confused with his sudden appearance and cold demeanour N̵̢̜͉͓̝͉̱͖̖̭̰͖̻̈̅͗͑̃̌̽̂̿̉̕͜H̶̛̛͈́̏̃̍̾a̶̧̡̨͕̘̦̲̤̯̙̖̹̫͊͘͜͠O̵̝̳̠͛̂̈́̈́͝ě̵̥͙̜̣̥̼͕P̶̼̦̪̭̳̭̬͍̈́̌̌͋́̄͆̉̎͘͠͠g̴͎̻͎͚̣̖͇̩̙̅́̂̋̌͐͐E̸͇͍̬̮͋͊̈̌͋̄̎̇̓̄́̽̈́̍͠i̵͓̤̤̟̤̘͊ recoiled.

Kamukura placed a hand on h̵̳̓̐́͘ȩ̵̡̭̭̣̬̹͉̰̤̥̊̈́͆͑̉͆̃͊̿̚̚į̴̯̲͖́̍̒̓̄́͂̍̀͆͝͝ṟ̷̨͈͉̜̩̖̤̲̺̯͂͆̎͂͋̓͂̂́̈̓̚̕ͅş̴̙͇̹̻͑̿̍̅̃͆̂̏̌̋̽̈́ right shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"**G̸̪̙͈̮͊̽͠ͅo̵̧̡̲̪̍o̴̖͓͚̱̮͎̫͓͓̪͇͗̚ḑ̴̥͈̥̘͓͔̞͙̖̮̝̺̼̅́̍͆̿͜ ̷̺̺̊̇̀͒̈ĺ̷̝̜̔̄̽̈̕u̷̡̨͉͖̝̳̙͉͚̬̳̜̜͛̀ç̸̨̡̲̬̻͖̖̗͔͛̂̑͒́̉́̈́̇͘͠ͅk̷̛̯̱̱̳̯̈́̈̂̓̆͘."**

With that he left, confident now that the 'ś̶̨̧̪͙̲̳͂̆̿̍̍͘ͅK̴̞̐͒̔̈̀̈́̏͝I̸̧̡̧̡̦̻͎̤̞̣͈̟̻̺͌̊́́͌͒͆̀͜L̷̨̠̠̭͇̫̻̙̭̊̎̍̎́̈̀͑̋͊͗̂͘̚L̵͕̜̪̋̃̈̎̐͆͂͗̚͜ḩ̵̗͙̥͙̳̲̟͕͆̄̀̽͑e̷͙̬͖͚̠͇̦͎̿̒͝l̶̛̫̙̃t̸̜̐̂̐̂è̸̢̧̟̫͈̤̞̱͖̬͍͚̱̼ͅr̶̨̻̤̟͓̣͕̔̊̄̒̎͊̔́͌̐́͐̌͝͝ Project' would end with ḩ̶̛͍̝̤̼͕̮͔͈̤̖̱̹̩͋͊̎͗͗͛̈́̓̓̌͒̃́̔e̵͖̎̉̔̑͐͌̌͑͒̕r̷͖͙͎͍̬͇̰̮̙̳̤͔̩͗̅́̈́̽̈́͑̔̐͊̽̚ͅ ̷̡̛͎̞̘̠̝̦̣͚̖̠͗́́̉̾̂̂̋̏͐̾͐̀̚ͅḏ̶̢̬̓̂̽̎̔͗͊̓̑̓̊̆͜e̴̛̛͕̟̿̐́̈́̐͊͐̚̚m̸̡̘͖̱̼͖̘̦͓̙͗̀̽̔́̒́̒̇̌̚̕͝͠͝ȉ̵̧̛̱̺̩̫͇̖̻͚͉̣̻̇̿̐̋̅͜s̷͎͇͈͚̬͚̼̒̈́̂̃̐́̍̔̐́̀̄͒́͝è̸̺̻̦͓̤͕̩̜̩̲̜͚͓̹.

* * *

The migraine finally ceased. He couldn't concentrate on these sudden and random memories invading his mind. He couldn't focus on being impaled by the glass. He had to find out what was going on, he had to make sure everyone was okay**, she** had to be okay.

Ten minutes passed; the adrenaline was starting to wane. The pain becoming more excruciating with every passing moment. The scorching hot sun drying and crusting the blood on his back through his cut-up shirt.

The glass was nothing compared to his anxiety, the excruciating wait to know what happened. Every step was one of trepidation. Equally wanting to know yet not, the truth looking grimmer as the path of blood continued. Outstretched over hundreds of metres.

Hajime pushed on, looking ahead, trying his best not to think about anything but going forward. Putting one foot in front of the other. As he got closer and closer to the hotel a distinct smell of ash was being carried by the wind.

'This… this can't be happening.' This thought hurdled through his mind.

Hajime felt himself lose his footing suddenly. A loose object on the ground sliding underneath his feet. Falling straight onto his face the shard of glass now lodged further into his mouth. The tight vertical skin beneath his tongue being carved in half. The stinging sensation felt as if poison was being spread throughout his body all radiating from one single point.

He went to scream in agony but choked on his now flaccid tongue. He hastily ejected it from his throat regaining an airflow. He could feel a steady stream of blood flowing down his throat and out his mouth, but he didn't care. He could lose his tongue, he could bleed out, it didn't matter to him as there was only one thing he cared about.

'**I HAVE TO FIND HER.'**

Fighting against his entire body to stop he dug his feet into the sand and got back up. Looking behind him Hajime saw what he tripped on. Like stars on the night of the blood moon, sparkles of light surrounded by unquenchable red, her diamonds still shined. Sonia's bow lay in the dirt now dyed a sickly red.

Hajime's mind could not comprehend this hell. Without considering the circumstance or consequences of his discovery, treating it as if he never found it, he continued.

* * *

Kamukura stood in an enormous room with a grand staircase leading to a higher level in front of him. Velvet red carpet was rolled from the door all the way up the stairs. A gold chandelier hung above him with a few hundred lit candles. Fading torches were also attached to the w̵̨̢͖̬̼̘̺̹͈͍͋̽̔̇̀̆͌̏̋̒̏͛̽͂͊͌́̓̚͝͝͠ͅą̷͖̦̌͗̂̾͌̓̋͌̓̕͠l̷̥͊̅̓͗l̷̬̳͔͒̀̉͆̔̔́̐̊̈́͘͝͝s̸̠̣͎̩̙̭̓̐́̓́̈́̊͝ around him but with how big the room was they only just gave off enough light to see. Over in the corner of the room a gargantuan pile of ç̶̛̥͔̗̫̟͙̤̣̗̮̦̠̪̥͕̟͚̟̳̻̽̈́͐͂͗͆͗̓̇͗͊͋̽̃̈́̿͒͂͐̾͒̚͘͜͝0̴̨̢͔̝̲͈̘̦̣̪͕̲̹̰͎̬͉̣̞̹͎̮͆̇͌̍̅͒̇̑̉̃͗͐͊̓̅̊̐̋̓̚͘͝͝ͅͅṟ̴̨̳͙͇͉̦̦̠̙͇̰̦̜̫̭̦̬͖͆̀͑́͝p̵̢̨̨̝̯̙̥̱͍͈̯̤̲̜̫̠̜͍̻̲͖͓̗̈̇͂͌̒̕͜ͅ5̷͙̩̱̹͎͖̬̝͇̰͓̖̻̣̃̿̐͋̈̍̎̑̀́̏̈́̐̚̚̚̚͝͠͝e̵̡̨̛̛̠͓̳̥̥̳͙̪̝̮̭͓̬̣̙̙͍͇̺̳̯͓͒́̀̐͆̐̑̉͗̿̄̎̏̑̅͘͘͜5̵̺͉̞̊̉͒̿̂͌̓̉͋͒̈̅̕ was piled on top of each other. Many were only wearing scraps of clothing if nothing at all having been stripped of possessions. He could smell the ŗ̸̩̭͙͍̩͕̙̭̝͚̣͉̀́͋̋̓͑̈́̔̄̎̈́̇̇̄̊̄͜͝o̵͇̿͆̆̀͊͌̓͊͗̀̃̇̊̈̎͐̅̀̓̕̚̚͝ṫ̸̢̝̩͔͔̦͎̦̗̲͖̹͔̤̹̼̤ from across the room and hear the hundreds of flies in ecstasy as they feasted.

The massive entrance doors were closed behind h̸̨̥̼̋̂̾́̏̽̉̀̆͗͗̇͒̈́̿̽͘͘͜͜͜į̴̨͚̞̘̦̬̖̟̖͉̗͍̩͙̳̲̬̠̗̖́̈́͒̂̅͑̈̔̈̀m̸̨̢̭̺̳̘̙̟̙͖̙͕̗̦͎̤̖̘̜̞͍͙̌̽͐̀̿͆͐̍̕͝͝ͅ by a butler in a black suit with a red tie while also adorning a black and white mask, he recognized it as the symbol J̵̨͓̺͔͖̳͖̫̦͔̗͈̍͜u̶̢̡̨̨̹̞̯̥̠͈̮̙͚̖̰̙̅̊͑͐̈̀̑̕͜n̴̢̨̧̡̝̺̲͓̝͓̰̖͇̤͇͓͕̜̯̻̄̍̂̿̇̎͝ͅḱ̷̨̳͕̫̳̯͎̩̹͉̙̜̬̫̜̞͔̋̽̎̆̒̏͋͆͆́͗̌͑̀̓̾̕͝ô̸͓̩͈̤̼͛̀͑͌̿̚͠͝͝ ̵̡̧̘̼̭̪̻̯͊͒͂͗̔̈́̓͑̉̑̓̑͌͒͒͝͠Ȩ̴̭̪̭̮͑͐͗́̆́͊̈͗̉͒̉̌͑̈́̏̓̚̕͠͝͝ṅ̷̡͍̤̜̙̓̅̇̎̅̆̐̆͛̅͝ö̷̡̡̙̜̞́͊̐̃̎̍͆̾̀̅͗̿̍̚̕ş̷̧̢̛̛̜̦̟͍̘̮̮̮͔̳͔̫̜̟̥̟̫̟̘̝̜̖͈̀͑̀͋̂͐͂̍͑͆̈́͑̐̕̚͠h̷̹̺̲̩̺͙̽̅̽͒͂i̶͍͑̀́̈́̐͂̀̓̃̓͋͜ḿ̶̨̯̫̟̮̜̯̘̬̦̯̪̰͇͓̮̾͆̔̐̒̋̿̈́͜͜͝a̵̢̡̡̝̳̹̣͎͉̙͇̱̦̼̭̤͖͇̦̫̗̘̹̪͔̐̅̌̃̌͒̉̉̓̈́̄̈̓̎͋̂̾̾̈́̕̚͝͠͝͠ ̸̲̘̩̫̥̯̈̑ͅ designed.

"̶̡̛̜͚͉͍̼͓̻̤̥͖̗̈́̇͋͐̂̌̕̕͜͠͝K̷̡̡̧͚̩͖̜̹̞̭̹̳͚̼̜̲̟̭̪̙̳̽̀̂͗͗̓͆͐̇̈̐̓̓̕̕͜͠͝ͅͅA̵̧͈̬̫̰̞̙̭̪̬̬͚͚̩͔͈͎͍̫̲͌͒̐́̇̐̀̽̇͊͛͆̓̓͆̑͒͐̑͒͊̂̊̕͜͝͝ͅM̴̨̨̠̜̗͍̞̪̪̦͕͖̦̣͚̼̰͈̍̑̈́͗̈́͂̿͂̋̒̃̄̑̀́̄̈́̄̎̂͘̚͠͠͠K̶̛̯̜͉̯͍̬̻̦̻̬̭̪̤̭̱͇̓̇̀͋͂̉́̕ͅU̵̢̡̳͉̦͍͖̖̦̲͙̤̠̰̜̰̣̯̥̎̆̃̈́̋͜R̴̜͖̖͓͙͈͑̈́̀͐̐̄̇̄̆̈͐̀̆̈́͐̃͂͗̅̉̾̏̕̕͠A̶̡̡̻̗̬̞̭͍̥͖̟̘̱͕̐͆͘͜!̵̙͇̆͊̒̈͂̀̃͐͗͆̋̚̕"̶̢̡͍͍̦͙͓̞̱̬͎̼̠̲̬͕̮͈͎̙̘̤̍̃̀̅̉̀̀̒̍́̂̌̏͐̾̇̈́̍͘͝ ̴̧̛̱̣̺͓͈̪͇͇͖̙̣̎̈́͒͝ͅͅHe heard a young woman practically scream as she descended the staircase. "Oh thank S̴̢̧̞̣̱̦̭̳̳̜͇̹̜̻̼̖͖̗͍̐͗̈́̏̋͜ģ̸̛͓͇͓̘͚͍͔͍̓̂̅͑́̋͂́̍͋̊̒̌̿̈́̐̔̕͘͜Ȧ̵̛̳̣̘̣͇͎̣̹̼̼̟͎̺̮̝̮̱̓͌̂̿͑̾̆͑͐̀͑̓̒̌̍͂̚̚̚͠ǫ̴̲̗̦̺̭͖̲̯͈̣̠̳͌͂͗̌̓̓͛̋͛̂̂̄̀̓̈́̈̈́͗͗͒͘ͅT̶̢̢̲̭̫̞͚͉̱̙̼̋̈́̈̾̆̓̐́̿̕͝ḋ̵̨̺̹̘̘̖̮͚̰̥͚̌̈́̑̍͌̈͆̏̐͆̈́̒̂́͘̕͝Ā̴̡̨̢̙̼̠̱̼̦͓͕̪̼͈͔̣͍̹͙̼̟͓͐̀̀̄̓̈́̒̽͐͋̅͛͑̄̇̐̄͛͗́͘͜͜͜͝͠͝N̷̠̯͓̱̺͎͖̙̖̙͈͎̿̈́̀͜ you are here to help! This has all gone terribly wrong! T̷̡̢̩̖̫̞͈̞͇̗͙̮̍̓̑̐͒̓̎̇̆͐̀̓̍̌̃̐̚͘̚H̷͎̰́̇̈́́̃̽͗̐͌̓͑͝ͅE̷̢̓͊̍̓̋̽̌ ̴̧͖͔̣̳̘̠͑͋́͒̏̾̈́̂͊͌͝q̶̨̛̛̪̺̳̖̟̫̳͊̍̿̀̆͒̓̊̓̈́̌̀̉͑͐̕͠R̷̨̟̮̘̣͎̤͔̼̬͇̯͓̬̩͐̊1̵̞̩̠̾̍́̄͌̐̔͑̅͛̉̆͊̌̚n̴͉̱̘͋̊̍̈́̓̀͛̿͊̃͊͂͊̆͝c̶̢͙̦̈́̈́̇̀̈̉͊̐̐̽͝Ḙ̶̡̡͓̯͇͔̞̺̩̯͖͈͚̤̘̦̠̇͗͊̔̑̇̓̾͆͑̊͝5̵͔̬͙̄̍̅̒5̸̛͍̿̃̿̂!̸̨̡͇̖̙̟̹̱͈̼̘̟͌͜ ̷̡̛̱̼̖͉̱̪͒̇̂̇̀̕ş̸̡͍͕̫͗̉̂̈́̔͆͊͘͝Ḫ̴̗̗͙̥̭͚͔͐̅̂̌̏̽͝ͅË̷̼̰̼̰̻̘̬͔͕̫̘̦̰̼̣͔́͂̇̌̅̐͆̄̕̚̕͝…̴̠̣̯̤͎̬̱̘̝̤͛̂̅̏̀͋̈́͑͂̒̆́̿̋̍͘ ̶͈͖͔̟̱͇̯͈͋̾̌̏͆͋́͗̅̓͘ͅs̴̢̢̛̛̛̜͖̮̪͔̺̥̮͖̬͖̝̝̼̲̅͐̾͂͌́͂̐̓͐̽͊̕͝H̶̛̥̗̟͖͈͈̥̙̞̱͓́̄͊̋͆͗̋̈́̆̉͂̉̾̎̚͘̕͝Ẻ̴̛̛̮͂̽̆̏͘ ̶̰̯̭̼̜͖͐̿̿̇̾̈́̔͋̋̐̍̈́̚ị̴̡̢̨̤̠͙͔͚̅͆̅͆́͂̓̊͆͌̅̂̂̍͝s̷̤͕͓͙̳̣̗̦͆̐͆̅̉͂̇͋̒̓̌̀͛̒̕,̷̬̜̣͎͆̽͊̈̿̋́̓͛͊̓ ̷̧̢̼̹̦̦̟͍̮͓͛̊̆̒̑̂͂̓̑̐̒́́͂̏̚͝f̴̛̜͈̪̺͇̑͐̆̌͗͗̎͌̕̕͜͠r̷̯̖̮̠̖͍͈͒̅́͒̐͘͘E̵̡̥̱̼̰̜͉͉̓̊̽̎̽͆Ê̸̛̗̤̜͔̐͐̌̃̿̆͐̃͑̔̅͆̂̄͝!̷̨̫͓̞̗͕͎̮̙̣̣͇͓̎̓"̴̡̢̝̳̣̥̲͕̺͖̫͇̝̞͚̰̰̀̈́̓́̈̾́̚͝ͅ

The w̴͇̯̳͉̠̅͒Ṭ̷̲̜̽̊̋̒̄̈́͐̈̀̓͝ǫ̴͈̰̮̼̦̰̼̳͚̪́̒̇̄̅̉̎͘͠R̸̨̪͙͚̦̲̳͚̟͔̠͉͝m̴̨̡̡̡̲͉̜̣̬̬̠͉͉̭͈͚͎̮̖̳̳̭̳͜͝a̴̖̻̟̜͙̦͕͔͙͐͊͒̅̈̈́́́̍̒̔̚͠Ș̶̢̡̝̲̥̱̻̣͉̜̦̹̪͚̤̣͋̃̓͊͌̓̊͜ͅH̶̨̡͕̼͔̲̤̺̟̹̲̭̬̙͎̦͔̠̤̪̼̠̝͖͍͇͗̐͗̅̅̇͛͛̋̀͛͋͆͆̌̐͂̓̊̒̎͘̚n̵̡̢̛̛̙̮͎̦̝͈̱̥̙̠̠̹̭̈͒̓̊̍̉̔͌͐̀̃̅͐̕͜͝͝͝ went to embrace him with wide arms to find the back of Kamukura's hand smacked against her face. She smiled as she slid across the room from the impact.

* * *

Hajime rounded the corner having finally arrived at the hotel. The path of blood never stopped; it was as if the victim was dragged all the way there. The scene looked like one out of a warzone. Smoke and ash covered his surroundings, nearly blocking out the sun. Gunpowder, blood and piss filled Hajime's nostrils. Corpses littered the ground; ones of people Hajime didn't recognize… intruders of the island, presumably.

**Until…**

**There was one…**

**He did.**

**Mahiru **was beneath a tree. A gag in her mouth, dried tears on her cheeks. Her clothes stripped, and her body beaten. A noose was tied around her neck and looped around the piping of her cabin. The words 'Crazy Cunt' was sculpted into her stomach's flesh with a knife.

Hajime simply stared at her lifeless corpse. This couldn't possibly be real; he couldn't accept it.

'No, no, no, no, no, no… I was talking to her yesterday. She can't be gone. She… was okay. She's okay.'

Doing his best to suppress the overwhelming urge to vomit Hajime continued uphill towards his cabin. He wasn't exactly sure why, but it was as if he was being called there.

As Hajime reached the halfway point he looked toward the restaurant and research building. The restaurant roared with a furious blaze, threatening the fauna in its proximity. The research building was collapsed, a distinct black ring surrounded it. Evidence of an explosion. He could see his friends' comatose bodies littered around the pool as if they went flying.

'**Not real… no…'**

Hajime continued. Nothing but the thought that possibly, maybe, there was a chance that the others were okay. His low expectations were quickly demolished though as he almost tripped on **Kazuichi**'s corpse. His body was a broken mess of limbs sprawled on the ground, his fingers and toes missing alongside his scalp.

'I… Kazuichi?... No…'

He had almost arrived when he was greeted with **Akane**… no, **Fuyuhiko**? He couldn't tell. It would be more accurate to say both. Akane's head was carefully placed on Fuyuhiko's body and vice versa. Their eyeballs were in each other's mouths. Many stabbed and beaten corpses littered around them, it seemed they put up a fight before being bested.

Hajime…

Continued.

* * *

"H̶̛̜̦̣̲̑̈͆͐͊͒̊̕ą̶̖͉͙̱̮̭͙̈́̀͜j̴̨͓͍̭́͂̈́̎̅̆͆̄̂̏̋͊̑̚i̴̡͎̥̐͑͑̈́͝͝m̵̢͍̠̮͚̞̻̯͉͕͇̏̐́̃̽̽̌͊̆͜e̸̢͇̣̓̋̒̅͑̂̇͂͐̈͊͝ … this next part is ḙ̶̰̟̤̙̐̄͛͊̇͂̒͋̍̇̃H̸̡̛͖͔̰͉̙̉̌͗͗̑̿̍̌̀̚͝n̴̛͈̽͊̌Ǐ̷̢̩͆̊̾c̸͕͓͈̫͔͎̝̹̙̭͕̰̥̟͙̍D̸̥̩̼͎͉̬̘͙̆̾̅̈͛͌͂͊̅̈́͐̈́̚͠ŕ̷̛͇͔̯̤͍̩̤̙̰͇̻̐͗̃̀͛̒͝͠͠͝D̴̛̛̙͉͈͉̦͉͍̈́̑̂̒̀̔͗͂̑͆͗̄͜y̶̦̯̮̆̄̈́̇̊Ë̸̡̛̛̼̼͙̤̯͔͈̠́̓͆̓͆̍̆̓̌͜ṗ̷̡̼̯̪̟̩̙͎͙͒̊̍̽͆̎̈́̏̍̂̂͘͝͠ͅͅN̷̛̟̭͂̀̋̇͝t̸͈͎͛̍͜e̵̬͕̜̙̽͋̊̿̐̀̐̀̚͠ḑ̷̝͈̮͚͖̱̝̺̱̀̉͌̋̒̈́̑͜ͅ beyond belief."

"Whatever this is…"

"He d̴̬̱̓̐͋̄̏̃̆̑͝ö̴̧̡̱̭̤̟̭̰͉̣̞̩̘̲̮̎͊̃̃̑̀͆̏'̷̡̢̹͍̲̘̪̪̯̬͉̱͗̾̏̾̇͂̋̓͘͘͘ȩ̸͉̥͎̫̥̠̯̫̝̮̬͇̳̿̀̾̏̒̅͋̕͜͝s̶̝̹̅͑̂͜͝'̵̛̺͔͚̣̙̮̘̮͎̰͈̦̱̻̒͐̒͛̈́̃̒̒̋̈́̕͘͠ņ̴̺̭̟̭̖͚̳̋̈́̆͊̎̌o̸͍̝̖̺̓̓͊'̵̧̡̧͔̲̜̼̳͗̉t̷̖̜̓̀̓̆̃̏̇͘͝ want you to s̶̛̪͕͚̥͉̬̩͇̦͠͠e̶̡̧̖̼͚̭̪̤͖̣͖̎̎̊̓̊͗̕̕ͅe̸͈̎̅̀̊͆̐̈̐́͘͝͝ it."

* * *

He didn't want to look anymore. He wanted to die alongside the rest of them, but he couldn't. Not until he found Sonia. It wasn't much further now; he had almost arrived at his cabin.

He recognized another body. It was **Yuki**'s. His innards were… He immediately averted his gaze, not wanting to bear witness to any more sadism.

…

His fingers coiled around the steel doorknob. It's cold embrace a familiar and comforting feeling. With incredible guilt and hesitation.

**Hajime**

**Opened**

**The**

**Door**

"**The Future can be anything we make it.  
Do you still believe that?"**

* * *

"Oh, K̴̨̦̭͓͚̬̼̗̬͚̣͚̠͇̖͍̼͈̪̹̯̳̓̋̚̚ͅH̴̢̡̛͙͙͎̩̻̼̥͇̃a̴̺͚̳̠̯̟̞͊̿̐͆̋̾̈́͆͠J̸̲̟̻̃̇̉̅͛͒̏͆̀̊̾̒̂̑͊̔̐̓̈̌̕͝͝͝m̵̡̡̨̧̮̺͔̜̭̳̗̗̤̘̬͖̗͕͖͇͚͍̖̋̈́̒̈́̊̽͜Į̴͓̹̘̥̙̀̇͒̈̒̔́̊̆̅̈̅͑̀̋̌̀̿̂̈͘̚͠u̷̡̢̡͈͍̥̬̺̤̮̻̱͇̳̝͚̝͙͉̜͖͙̐̃̌͋̾̀̽̃̈́͑͌̊̃͐̉̔̎͒̂͊́͘̕͝͝M̶̗͙͚̤̤̙̾͐̓̃̑̑̐́͋͛̒̿̍̌̈́̎̄k̵̢͍̰͙̯̜̹̦̼̼̰̼͎̐̐̐̽̓̿͑̄̍̓̈́̉̄̃̊̇́̊͒͘̕̕̚͝E̸̡̠͍̋̉̔͌́̃̄͐̑͒́̐̽̌͂̽̑̉́̚̕͠͠͝͝u̶̥̖͖̼̠͈̝̼̻̖͔̜̮͓͉̬̮̩̦̠͑̌͊͌̅̀̑͌͑̓̀̑̏̊̇̆̌̍̏̆͂̃̚͠͝r̴̡͓̦̱̹̫̯̞͙͖̲͐͐̄́͆͜å̶̫͇̈͊!" The nurse began salivating as she c̷̡̨̨͍͍̝̥̯̠͖̺̋̋̉͊̀̊̆͂̃͗̀͘͘͘͝a̷̢͖̣̹̟̰̼̯̳̖͑̀͋̂̑̀̀̈͐̓̄̇͗́̆̾͆́̃̂̑͂́͠͠͝ȑ̵̡̢̧̞̳̩͙̼̭̖̙̘̘̣̯͇̱̩̘̪̄͒̋̀e̵̺̣͂͋̆̐͋̆̀̃͊̐̋͗͂͌̐̐̈́̚̕͘͝͠ṣ̶̨̙͇̪͚̤̮͉̱͚̬̒̿͋̆̅̇́̏̀̀͜s̷̗̳͉̞̈́͌͊̀́͛̅̂̎̈̄̓̑̕̚͜͠ë̸̛̹̫̝̺́̾̋̅̏̂̏͐̆̓̋͑̀̊̉̚͝d̷͍̘̥̫̱̤̭̉͆́͊̈́̔ her ş̶̢̡̣̘͖͕̗͇̰̙̰̲̹̑͒͘͜ͅw̷̠̪̮̪͇͔̄̓͂̌͐̋̈́͘͠ͅǫ̸̛͚̣͉̃͛̑͑̈͐͂̑̅̈̄͝͝l̸̢̧̧̡̨̨̞͚̬̩͕̮͎͈̫̳̰̫̹͈̒̍̀̏̅̈́͆́̊̌͊͋̊͌͘̚͜͠͝͝l̷̡̛̛̩̭̙̟͓̜̮̼͙̣̍̽̈́̓̑́̋̿̈́͗͛̑̓̕̕͝ͅę̸̢͙̲͉͎̣̣̘͇̼͇͕̖̹̭̻̗̭̽͋͌̈́͑̈́͆̈́̐̀͘͠ͅn̴̬̍͗̍͗̈́̑̋̍͑͒͑̃̒̆̔̅̈́̐̀̉̚͠͝ cheek. "P-please H̵̩͑̇̎͑͐̏̒͑̒̈́͌̿̔͊͂͝Í̵̧̢̝̞͎̋̍T̶̩̻̲̥̜͕̹͒̀̽͗͂̄̌̄̎̈́̍͂ͅ me again! Oh please! Give me more of your F̷̘͕̻̺̥͗̅̓̍͗̄́͆́̐͜͠͝l̶̡̛͉̳̖̪͆́̀̃̑̀̐͊̍̑̉͗̅̑̄́͗̂͛̿́̚̕͝͝Ư̴̛̠̰͔͍̦̩̼͖̽̔̋͒̉͑̎͑̾̾͗̓͘͠õ̴̩͈̝̦̪̲̖̤͌̄̓̄̾̋̅̈́̔͆̎̑͐̀̉́̀̌̒̕͘͝͝C̶̫̠̣͙͇̝̮̺͔͖̰̠̝̈́͂̎͌̊̈́̈́͋̋̊̈́̀͊̉͐͑̿̊̊̚̚̚̕͝͝͠ͅv̸̨̫̘͈͉̰̘̟͑̌͂̎̓͒͗͗͊̍̂̂̽̚̚̚͜͠K̴̳̭̱̺͍̤̠̰̦̞̺̟̐̽̂̈́̿̽́͂̕̚͘͝͝e̶̛̙͔͖̬̲͐͂̐̀͋̅͐̿́̓̑͑̏̀̍̋͂̕͝͝!"

He didn't have time for her N̴̛͓̼͇̩̜͉̻͚͎̱͉̼̦͇̖͕̖̘̻̼͈̭͚̤͑͐̍̄̌͛́̐̏̈̄͗͜͝͠ͅȏ̷̡̠̯̯͚̹̦̺͓̬͔̔̑̂͗̆͑̿͋̒̎̔͌N̶̡̹̳̫̥̱͚̻̮͈̦̫̘͕̯̲͔̪̏̂̓͆͊̽̍͑͂͐͛͐̅́̿͜͜͝͠s̶̡̭̲̻͍̲̭͕͍̹̈̉͊͘͠ͅe̸̡̛̪͓̲̻̺̦͉̒̄̎̾̌̅̇̽̾̐͗͠N̸̡̧̛̞̬̺̗͈̠̗͆̈́̓͑̆̈̄́͌̆̐̆̇̍̂̑̾͒̾̕̚͝s̶̡̡̫͚͎͔̠̙̞̬̱͚̙̣̖̙̖̪͊̔̏̌͑̇́̈́̽̃̄̾͂̾͘̚͜͝ė̶̛͕͑͋̔͐̊́͆̎̍̊̉́̏̿͘͘͠͠.

"**Where is h̴̡̢̨̡͔̥̘̦̮̫̦̟̫͕̤̬͈͚̱̹͕̘̟͚̰͎͉̞̻̦̲̪̺̘̘͇̯̯͕͍͕̟̖̯̻̙͇̞̮͙̥̤̤̩͋͛̾̀̋͊̀̔̽̿̐͐̍͂̓͂͑̃͘͜͜͝ͅͅÈ̵̡̡͕̬̼̦̣̙̭̤͇͕̳͙̥͚̖͍̼͇̌̑̅͐̈̈́̀̀̉̐̅̑̄̄̔͌́̓̽̊̽͊͂̽̎̾̽͛́͘͘̚̕͘͜͝͠͠͝͝͠?"**

"Oh, do you mean )̶̧̛̟̞͖̦̺̹̩̤͍̠̟̘̯̞̝̳͎͔̂̄͋̽̈́̈̌̽̋͌͑͗̉̎͑͂̑͗̋͊͊̌̊̉̿̎̓̓͠ ̷̧̨̧̪̗͕̹̺̞̲̼̤͕͚̱͉̩̞̖̟̪̳̰̔͐̎̇̆͗͂̽̉̒̊́̄͜͠ͅͅN̸̢̡̛̙̥̤̯͉̖̦͆̊̈͂̒̈́͑̀͂̊̋͗̑̓̅̒͌́̽̏̆̿̽́̾̅̇̚`̶̛͎͖͗͆̐̔̇̑̎̊͑̉͂̾̊͗͑̍̌̈́̋̊̐͛̚͘͠͠͠ͅḾ̶̠͙̮͈̜̫̰̬̲͚̪̺͔͎̠͓̹̜͗̂̓̇͛͐̅̍̽̄̔̐́͘͠͝1̷̧̡̨̢̡̢̨̢̛̱͓̱̖͚̫͙̝͍̩͈̙̦̰͙̫͚͕̯̺̮̣̫̻͓̰̯̙̳̗͈̰̹̦̳̪͓̩͔̼̣͈͙̙͎̟͖̯̩̞͈̯̃̿̏̈̐̄̂̆͌͗̂̋͐͑̽͒̆̋̓͐̽̿͐̒̇͛̚͜͜͝͠ͅ? H̶̫̙̅̀̿̈́̊̚-̶̹͔͍͕͔̟̞͕̠̀̍͒̅̎̈́͑̈́̈́̎̔̍̈́̈́̕̚h̴͍͙̲͔̦̗̦̙̤̰̪̫̙͚̫̰͋̌̐͑́͛̿̈́͋͋͛̕-̷̡̡̰̤͓͖͍̱̠͖̼̟̜͉̮͇̼̠̖̀͛́̓̏͊̾̏̀ḧ̴̹̳͕͖̜̟̖̼̟̰̟̝͉̘̺͔̦̤̩̙̠̬̮̥́̀̎̋́́̈͆͗-̸̡̢̨̧̛̛̖͉̬̗͖͉̮̖̭͔̜̜͍̲̦̖̔̂͌̾͊͛͐̌͑͜͜h̷̤͔̫͇̄̿̅̃͗̍̊͐̆̌̆̑̈́̚̕̚͠ę̶̮̘̥̙̟̙̯͓̙͔̗̭̥̝͉̼̮̂̍͆͝ ̴̧̢̨̺̙̻̗͔̯̻͇̞̯̝͍͎͕̣̗͙̩̬̙̉͛͋̅̒̉̑͌̉̓̐̉͂̚͜͜͠ is in the b̴̧̡̨̢̥̝̝̹̣̜̮̦͈̹̥͖̞̮̪̰̬̲̞̿͆́́͂̍̾͒̄̔̉̂͗̍́̍̇̈̕̕̕͘̚ͅe̶̡͚̟̜̝̙͙̤̓̔̊͒͛͋͛d̴̨̢̛̛͓͖̭̰̖͕̝͖̞̲̟̖͎̤̼̩̪̩̬̭͚̯̐͋̎̊̐̅̚̚͜͠͝͠͝ͅr̶̛̩̰͚̭̻̲̤̾̓̀̓̋̊̄͛́̚͘o̶̧̝̠̼̠̰̣̺̗̘̖͈̺̳̙̤͕̯͎̦̻͚̫̖̰͗͆̈́͋͐̎̽͑̄̐̓̾̆̑́̈́̕͜͠o̴̧̫̖̖̖̺͖͙̬̥̺͈͕͍̩̣̬̘͖̔̓̅̅̀͐̋͒̄̋̾͂̕͝͝ͅm̶̠̲͕̝̩̲̻̦̞̟̝̹̖͙̀͜! Please let me escort you there!"

"**̵̢̡̧̯̣͚̲͈͕̳̥̟͍̰̖͔̞͊̌̽͊̿̋̽̌̅̅̔̔̏̚͘ͅD̵̦̬̰̝͔̫̻͖̪̩̹͉͓̖̈́̑͋́͛̈͠ͅỚ̷̙̔͊̑̎̎̄̌̾̽͌̍̂͒̈́͂͌̕͝ ̵̢͎̤̝̯͚̘͔͔̙̃̽͜ͅǸ̶̢͍͔͒͋́͑̓̉͆̀̕͝O̸̙̦͈͌̐͐͐̈́͌̋͋͗̾͋͘T̷͉̜̥̦̪̱̤̱͓̟̮̼͓̜̻͇̆̓̍͆́͊̀̍̆͑̿̽͆̾̅̕͘͜͜.̵͕̰͚͍̥̳̮͕̹̀͊̂̐̽̇̌̈̑́̈́̐̃͑"̴̢̨̛̛͎̺͎̻͎̼̲̣͈̣̦̙͔̇̽̍̀̂̊̈́̄̈́͛̽̚ **

'_**It's possible that it's Ḩ̵̛̛̰̭̘̱̠̭̮͇̤̣́͆̑̓̍̌̆́̿̆̈́͑̋̈̑͂͒̔́͆͂̉͆̆͒͐̔̾̇̋̏̓́͛͌̓̐͌͐͒̀̅̈́̌͗̆̈́̓͘͘͘̚͠͝͝͝͝͝͝͝Ē̵̡̡̢̡̛̛̞̲͙̱͕̟͈̻̝̭̼̱̳͉̪̖̲̹͍̼͈̝̲͈̹̻͖̞̤̖͔̪̦̗̝̹̟͇͙̻̝͔̥̤̭̜͎̗͕̩̄̋̽͗̅̋͆͋̀̇̈́̅̏̈͐͆̆̈̆̅͋͐͐̅̔̿̓̈́͂̓̆͛̑̇̊̈͌̔̐̌͌̀̚̕̚͘̚̕͘͜͠͠͠͝ͅr̶̢̡̨̢̛̛̯̙̝̯͎̰̮̳̜̞̠͉̟̻̯͙̙̞̮̟̖̺̥̗̳̰̣̣͍̰͖̭̳͉͖̻̥̱͔̣̯̦͈̣̘̰̼̳͚͚̳͎̉͑͌̓͑̆̾̄̈͆̈̊̽͋̃̆͂̇͒͛̽̍̓̓̀̅̍̈́͊̀̓̌͊̍͋͒͑̑̇͋͑̓̋͘̚̚̕͜͠͝͝͠ͅͅĘ̵̱̣̝̟̫̬͉̪̱̺͈͈̞̳̲̈ͅḑ̷̢̨̡̛̛̛̫͈̻͓̟͖̫̼͎̱̮̮̠͎̬͓͍͚̻̬̝͕͔̭̮̘͔͍̲̳̠̲͓͉̥͈̠̜̥̮̮̀̉̿̇̇͛̓͒̈́͌͛͛͛̇̊̈́̂̏̃͂͑͑̊͂͂̂̎́̌̓̍̃̉̓̀̄̈́̀̐̒̿̓͐̽̈́̎͑̆̅́̈̀̈́̕͘͝͠͠ͅͅÏ̷̡̛̛̫̠̱̭̩͇̼̈́͌̀̈́̒͊̍̈́̓̽͌̌̈̎͒̔́̇͂̈́̏̽́͑̏͌̾̎̾̌͒́̂̈́͘͘͝͠ť̴̢̨̡̡̢̧̙͍͔̜̞͍̹̰̥̤̭͉͔̙̜͎̦͚̤̻̠̳̻̥͕̺̺̟̮̥̥͕̞̳̬̰̘̤͈̦̟̭͚̙̬̭̲͉̳̻̥̭̺͕̺̜͇͔̝͚̅̎͐͛̎̌̒͛̀͆̄͑̌̾͐̿͐̋͊̇̿̂̉͘͘͜͜͝͠ͅͅA̴̧̢̡̧͉̲̥̞̖͓̻͍͍͓̗̜̰̳̥̹̺̮̜̗̳̯̮͈̘̲̞̹̠̤̫͈̖̱̮͈̱̤̥͙̫̮̯̘̫̭̥̞̦͉͇̠̰̗̝͔̹͕̾͋͑́͛̓̈́́̅͛̾̔̃͋̓́̋̈̀̓̀̎̀̆͌̉̈́̌̔̈̄͋̿͆̊̂̄̀̽͂̒̓̒̌͛͘̕̚̚͜͜͝͠͝͝͝͝͝r̴̡̨̡̢͈̱̲͙̳̱̝̰̲̝̻̝͙̲͉̥̬̺̮̙̰̖̻̖̭̠͚̞͇̘̬̤̜̣̦̥̤̼̮͖̬̲̖̩̜͇̝̳̫̍̃̈͛̓͘ͅy̵̠̘͎̯̣̆̈̄͗͊͆̏̌̉͊̑̓̓̆̓͆̒͒̔͛̃̒̋͐́̃͑̆̏̓̂͋̾̽͐͗́̎̐̈́̈́̈́̏͌̄́̃̏̍̑̊̌̓͛͋̄̐͋͂͘͘̕̕͠. What made ẖ̵̥̭̳̮̯̞͈̦̫͖̋̅̈͊͛̉͌̏́̎͂̂͊͝M̴͈̟͕̪͕͐͒̔̿̓͝ͅe̸̳̔͌͜Ẹ̶̱́̔̑ŗ̷̧̮͔̫̗̹̲̠̔̓͝ so special. The p̵̢̢̛̣͖͔͓͎͍̖͍̝͖̹͙̫̼̻̯̳̫̻͉͎͍͐̽͊̈̓̇͑̍ͅͅò̵̢̨̧̢̖̣̣͖̭̥̖͍͖͎̲͖̦̦̥̳͖̠̞̪͕̈́͌͂s̷̛͔̣̻͕̘̜̯͎̠̼͎̘̳̯̫̺̅̅̔̊̊͂̉̀̅͋͗̐̕͝͝͠s̵̢͈̯̩̘̹͙̻̘̬̺̲̺̬̮͖̞͍̪͚̰̜̥͔̓̈͛͗͋͗̚͜͝ǐ̸̧̠̲͎̤̺̼̣͖̪̺̓̈́͐̅̓͑̈̾̈́͛̅̑̕͝b̵̡̧̡̛̺̗͚̬̣̟̩̮͍͔̝̻̆͛̊́̐̀̓̅̉̔͌̒͒͆͆́̈́͋͝͠í̵͉̝͖̀l̶̡̥͚̹͎̱̫̤̽̑̀̒̀̿̒̈́̃̀̿̓̋͗̀̌͋̓͗͘͘͝͝͠͝i̵̡̢̢̧̖̻̹̖̝̫̭͚͍̽̽̓̄̽̄́̐̑͊͒̌͋͒̾͂͐̃̓̆̆̒̈́̈́̿͜t̶͙̫̭̮̬̖͍̩̘͓̺̰͚͙̞͍͕͓̐̂̈́̌̇̌͐͑͂̌̌̑̆̊̽̿̽̄͑̈́̀̀̾̋̚͝ÿ̶̗̰͉̣̣̍͛̇͗͊ͅ ̸̛̛͈̑̓̌̀̉̆̀̓͆̈̑̀̔̾̉͑̀̋̈͑̀̂͗͝ḣ̵̟͉͎̭̙͉̞̰̭̰͔̗̜̅͌̅̒̏͆ͅa̷̧̺̘̗͍̯͚̫͙͚̅̿͆̈͒́̏̆͊̈́̆̈́͌́͑̊̋̅̋͘͘̚͠͠͝͝s̵̱̳̙͚̫̘̞̟̝͚̞̗̀́̔̕͝ ̴̛̯̹̲͇̙̹̮͈͚̤͚͕̫̙̻̗̫̯̹̞̝̆̀̌̃͌͒̇̐͊̂̄̑͘ͅͅţ̵̛̦̹̣̖̙̖̩͖͕̖̜̯͍͕̻̯̻̙̫̠̺͓̩̪̉̓̑͊͌̈́̑̈́̈́̀̑̒̄͐̓̋͌̔̓͊̈̑̏͜͝͠o̸̩̍̎͒͋͌̽̒͗́͂̓̂̓̑͊ ̴̢̣̜̟̬̦͙͚̩̫̜͖̦̖̺̮̱̾̅̓̊̈́̃̽͗̅̊́̀͆̂̕͝͝͝b̴̧̻̦̣́͛̀̀͊̚̚ͅę̶̼̗̼̠͈̱̱͈͇͊̑̅́̃̒̀̐͌̏́͛̓̍̇̏̓̚͠͝͝͠ͅ ̷̺͇̪̤͈͇̣̣̪̓̒̓̍̀̈́̏̈́̅̄̌͂̈́̅̌̕͘ͅȩ̵̢̨͓̻̳͇̝͖͚̼̳̪͖̠͉̀͛̓͌́̂̀̃̌̐̈́̄̂̌͌͋̎̈́͋̏͝ͅx̷̧̧̜̲͉̤̺̩̝͈̟̮̳͙̯̩̜̹̰̗̮̙̱̃̽̈́̏̒̀̿̽́̕̕͠ͅp̵̡̢̧̨̡͔̭̝͍̞̦̥̰̞̗̜͚̗̺͉̮̣̗̻̣̬̒̐̈́͆ļ̴̡̢͖̳̼̰̰͍̺̙̻̰̞͉̭̺͕̮̹̩̪̹͚͆̇͂̅͑͒̒̑́̔̐̈͠ͅơ̴̥̇̒̊̎̽̀̄̈́̑̌̕̚͠r̷͇̀̿͊̀͗͒̓̿͆̾́͐͆̇͐͠͠ḙ̴̦͌̐̈́̆̉͛̉̈̄̓͆͘̚͝͠d̸̢̥̫̖͓̩͇̻̦̼̹̥̠͙̪̰͙̠͉̭͉̰͉̰̾̑̽́͆͆͐̎̄̔̓͑̆̊̈́͆̂̚̕̚͠ͅ.'**_

"B-b-b-but..." H̴̡̨̡͉͙̗͔̭̟̼̗̮̯̮̝̮̗̀͌̋̒̔͋̈́̇̈͆̃͑̿̾̒͋̈̂̉̃͝ḙ̸̭͇͇̲̲͓̼͉͓͉̝̖̙̘̓͑͒̅̈́̓̿͂̄̾́̾̚̚͜͠ͅ could hear the n̷͚̫̗̍͛̾̃̓͝ǖ̶̥̘͙̙̥̻̠̣̰͙̯̯̓̌̐͑̈́̈́̓̄̀͝ŕ̸̡̡̺̦̭͖͓̭̘͖̗̻̝͖̖̦̺͔͕̫̜̼͈̬̐́̈́͛́̋̈́̀̐̌̈́͌͂̚͝͠͝͝͠ş̴̧̟̰̱̗̱͉̼͎̫̮̳̻͕̻̌̿̈̄̑͊̃̈͜͝ͅͅȩ̶̛̳̻̩̝̲͈̬̼͙̙̰̂̂̎͒͌̉̿͂̎̓̔̓̊͌̎̂̊̍̔̇̚̕͘͜͝ ̴̧̧̛̩̳͎̯̥̣̤̄̉̓͛̏̾̒́͑́̀͒͠ͅș̷̭̓̾̌̊̔͒̋͋͘̚͝t̶̻͙̺͈͚̽͝ư̷̧̡̡̧̜̳̣͕͇̘͖̯̱̼̺͗̎̔̈́̑̽̌̀̊̈́̌̂̋͌̔̈́̊̒͆̚̚̕ͅͅt̵̲̪̞̪̯̆̓̌̅͌̈́̌̂̈́̿́͘ͅţ̵̢̨̖͍̲͈̘̮͓̗́́̽͒̋͆̓̓̉̏͋́̄̕̚ȅ̶͚͓̜͕̥̯̰̀͑̊͑̒̔̊͝ŗ̶̼̮̥̙̉̈́̃̂̊̎̑̐̌̓̏̎͂̚͜͠ͅi̵͖̖̐̽̇n̴̺̬̪͑͑̅̓͑͊̋̋̓̉̆̾̃̉̈́̂͗̀̊́͋̐͝͠g̵̨͕̬̪͉̲̩̳̗̰͈̫͔̰͕̯̤̩̃͑̓͂ ̸̢̨̬͇͈̳͙͇̲͓̺̜̰͍̩̳̬̝̙̣̦̠͚̍̓̋̕ as she clawed her way closer still lying on the ground. "The p̴͙̥̘͎͕͋̀̃́̀̉̽̓̅͑́̏͒͛̏͌́̎͂͆͒̓̑̾̈͘̕ŗ̵̧̛͙͉͔̤̟̘̰̺̺̼͔̫͍̥͉̦̆́̄̒͌̚͘͜͝ị̸̧̡̧̛͕̹͉̥̘̹̹͓͇͍̦̮͙̓̒̇̿͐͒̔̍̈́̃̈́͊̃͊̕͝n̷̖͓͎͎̗̫̘͎̹̗̋̎͘c̴̲̗̫͇͚̦̲̤̭͔͈̳͔̹̮̒̊̃̓̃̅́̎̓͑͑̌̅̇̓̀̐͗̅̒̾̚͠͝e̸̡̧͙̘̻̻̪̟͉̖̜̝̘͎̙͍̝͓̫͈̩̰̠͈͓̳̹̫͆̓̒̔̿̐̊͆̔̎̓̕̕̕̚̕̕͜͜͜͝ͅs̷̨̟̹͉͍̫̝̘̤̼̦͓̘͉̙̠̯̲̲͙̠̲̼̝͔̣̖͈̥̹̳͙͒̾̽̆̐͐̒̚͜s̴̢̙͚̙͙̯̹̲͚̮̭̫̼̓͑̈̏͊͋̈́͊͊͋͑̕͜͜ͅ! What do I do!? W̵̧̢̢̩̙̗̬̜̱̱̪̰̙̝̺̗͕̫̙̳̦̻̥͕͖̫͇̗̤͍̦̥͛͒̈́̀̂̽̎̓̌̚̕̚͜-̴̡̯̭͚̝̹͙̣͉͕̱̪͈̯̜̜͈̻̗̹͔̗̯͍͎̟̝̽̍͐͊͛̐͊̓͋̎̀̂̋͒͑̄͝ͅw̷͚͙̯̺̱̣͑͛̉͋͛͝-̸̡̧̲̱̗̬̙̱̠̪̠̥͕͎̩̫̙̫̞͍̙̺̰͈̝̹̯̞̂̅̉̋̽̕͠͝w̴̢̨̭̣̗͇̯̮̬̣̜͖̤̮͓̯͑̈͂͂͋̄̎̾͘͠ę̷̛̛̠̳͎͎͓͎̳̖͓̖͇͓͔͐̃̏̊̄̀̀̍̐̐̐̂͛͊͗͐̓́̆͛͑̿͘͘̚͜͝͠͝ ̷̝̤͕͎̝̼̲̹͇͖̃̃̍̌̇̿́͝n̴̢̻̖͕̹͚̬͎͔̦̻̺̖̮͙͉͕̙̠̺͍̭̱͇͍̘͌̄͆̎̾̐ȩ̴̛͈̮͉̋̏̈́͑͊̀̿͐̿̉̂͗͆̉̏͐͊͆̕ę̴̛̮̩̙̑̄̃͐̎̍́ͅd̵̰̭̞̰͕̆̊̊͂̈́͐̄́͊̒̈́͗̆̏̾̈̂̇̉͋̌̿̊̆͊̋̈͆̉̀̏̇̄̒̕̚ͅ ̶̧̧̡̛̛̛͍͕̱̱͚͇͍͕͚̤̦̩͔̳͖̞̼̇͐̈̄̀̋̍̿̓̿̆͊̇̌̽͑̔̍̉͆̈́̓͛̿͋̀̀͐̕̚͜͝͠͝ͅh̶̢̛̰͆͒͛̈̾́̍̚͝ē̸̡̢͍̩͔̼̺̖̼̬̣͚͈͔̺͇̟̱̣̮͚̻̞͔̗̣̠̹̰͇͋̃̑͋̌̃̈́̑̇͐̏̍̑͊͠r̷̢̨̘̩̝͖̙̘̫͉̫̺̹̰̹̆͗̍̎͋̓͊̚!"

Kamukura paused. With J̶̡̨͔̩̬̝̝̬̗͚̩̱̟̻̩̪̣͚͈̱̺̞̖̟͕͙̟̻̭͊̉͐́̐̓̓͋̔̏̑͐͋̌͐̚ͅŭ̸̧̢͇͖̗̞̝͖̻̤͌̉̐͌̈̊͆̊̍̓̒̍̐̎̍͋̿͐̐͛́̕̕͘͝͠ͅn̷̹͙̤̗̞͖̘͎̳͍̪͔̬͓̝̾͐̓̉̍̍͂̔͂̀͂̋̇͠k̷̨̡̨̛̲̹̠͉̯͙̣̘̜̘̘͙̘̻͉̪͈̯͎̖̞̆́̈́̇̍̐̈́̃̆̑͊̃̌̄͆̑̈́̏̈́͆̐͐̚͘͜͝ó̷̡̞̱̳͈͈͉̥̻̬̬̭̬̦̙̤̞̟͚̣̠̣̠̥̙̼̱̘̙̯̹̍͜ͅͅͅ ̴̧̢̯̥͍̮̰̪͇͈̺̥̫̞̩̲̪͉̺̬́̍͑̎̽̌͂̇̈́̆̊͋͊͐̓̆͛͐̀͛̈́̈̔̅͗̈͐̉͗̾̾̕͜͝͝͠E̸̛̛̞͙͛̀̃̋̄̑̈̿̂̿̇́̅̿̈̋͛̀͛̽̒̉͑͘͘͝n̴̡̢̺̺̺̲̜̗̜͉̬͈͔̭̱͚̞͉̟̖͉̘̱̥̯̱̺͇͕͑̈̏͜0̵̨̧͍̤͔̭̤̯͎̥̭̞͓̮͋̆̈͌͊̾̉́̌͛͊̍͆̔͆̀̏̌̂́̆̏͆͋͠͝ͅs̶̡̨͚̯͖̬̪̘̭̐̎̑̓͋͐̐͝͠h̷̡̝͖͎͈͓͉͍͈͎͇̼͕̥͔̱͓̓̆̓͌̀͒̓̉͂̊̄̈̌͘͘͜͝ͅ1̶̡̨̡̨̛̦͔͍̼̳̺̖͎̯̫͉̭̺̯͕̱̱̞͙̥͙̳̼̣͙̖̞͛̔̀̈́̓͆͌̎̐͋̊̓́̍̿̔̊̔͛̆̒̅͛̋̑̋͊̃̈́̆̌͘̚̚͜͜͜ͅͅM̸̢̧̛̛͉̼̩̼͉͖̮͔̭͕͓̭̦̗̤̱͓͖͈̤̜̺͙̻̝͚͉̣̭̜̠̮̋̾̐͂͛͑̑̔̋̇͛̓̓͗̉̅͐͋́̆̒̽̓̆́͜͜͝͝a̷̢̧̰͎̣͈̫͙̮̩͙̥̫͖̙̓͛̈́̓̐̏̀͂̈́́͋̒͗̀̀̔̓̓̂̏͐͜ͅ ̸̠͔̥̱̯̓̎̒̓̈́͐̿̓̔̋́̓̓̌͛͑̕͠͝͠͠͠͝ͅ dead he didn't find it necessary to continue helping h̴̨̡̨̛͎͓͇̪͙̠͚̅̑̓̈́͗́̃̃͑̄̈́e̸̦̫̓r̴̢̡̝̹͕̝͓͖̤̗̖̼̫͙̺̳̰͘ͅ ideology. D̶̨̜̬̱͙̹̳̠͕͖̏͋͑͆̋̽̀̄̏̑͛͛͆̄̈̅͋͂͊̇̏̾̄̈́̇̄͛̀̈́̾̏̽̕͘͘̕͝ȩ̷̢̛̩̟̤͖͍̹̳̘͆͌͒̑̈́̅͑̌͋̏̍̇́̃̆͛̍̋̂̎͌͆̈̿̄́͋̕̚͠͝͝͠5̸̡̨̧̡̡̛͚͎͈̻͖͔͓̹̯̼̼͇͇̜̤̣̣̹̻͕̯̰̤̗͔̞̦̬̤͓̅͒̊̇̒͝ͅͅṕ̵̢̢͇̠̩̩͔̲͇͕̘̦͎̬̤̯̙̠̌̂͜͜a̴̛͓͍͆͊̔̾͛̒̿̆͒̽̇̑͒̈́͗̉̅͌̏́̑̇̂͗̀̕͘͘͝͝1̸̢̧̢̳̙̝͚̫̪͇̤͎͙̱̪̰̯͍̝̪̫̞̻̲͎͓͓̱͎̫̱̝͖̠͎̠͗̇́̋̃̈́͋̓̆̽͝R̵̭̱̫̼̪̬̩̗̫͓͈͔̖̤͉̪̲̠̆͐͑̈́̈̍͘͠ͅR̵̢̢̡̺̝̳̺̹̥̤̙̲͇̖̭̝̥͉̒̉̾̏̌͛̀̈́͒Ŗ̶͙̥͉͚̆̆̑̈́̃̈͆̈̉̐̂̅̉͒̋̎̕R̴͉̘̯̬͈̠̮̜̥͔̲̜̟̊̅̆ was as mundane as he thought it would be.

"̴͚͔̗̠̜̠̎̇̎̂̄͌͊̽̈́̾͗̏́̈́̉̍́̈́̄͌͘̚͠W̸̢̙̼̜̣̑̈́͌̐͗̈́͆̆̊̒͊̒̆̂͊͌̓͑̓̇͑̚̕͝͝͠-̵̙̭͙̼͑̾̀̀̔̽̂̿̃̑̅̉͗̍̽̈́̒̌̚͘̕͜͝w̷̰̣̖̯͎̦̩̩̝͓͚̳̅͌̂̏̇̋̋͊̓̍̂̕͝ͅ-̵̡̹̪͕̼͚̼͉̻̖͎̣̪̞̠̩͔̪͉̠̲̙̱̻̰̤̹̯̟̘̦̦͌̈́̈́̈́͂̂͛̆͘ͅͅͅẃ̶̧̢̘̼̤͚̙̥͕̘̜̫̤̥̤͉͑̊̃̀͗͠͝ͅË̷̢̮̳͙̰͉̙̗̖̝͇̙͔̗͙͎̙͚̤̲̳̮̹́̈́̓͛̓̍͜͜ ̸̡̨̨̛̬̙̖̭̤̻̱͈̙͎͇̲̱̳̺͚̩͚͚͕̲̳̮̜̔̽̈́̒̀͑̒͌̀́͂̓̈́͂̓̅́͂͌́̌̄̄̍̄̀͂̈́͐̍͗̅̊̚͜͝͝ẁ̵̨̧̛͖͕̼͙̼̲̙̣͍̻̩̹̰̫̙̣̤͙̮̩̦̫͓̥̹̲̠̪̼͂̈́͂̀̎̑͗͆̍̓͐̏̃̀̀̀́̃̽̾̌̆̇̿̅͗̊̚̚͘͜͠͠͝0̶̢̛͓̦̤͒̇̓̈́̇̈͂͐͂̄͘͝ń̸̰̪̱̼͔̗͙̼͆̎̔̀͆̾̓̄̀̿̂̀̃̆̕͠ͅͅ'̵̧̢̧̧̨̛͇͙̰̺̱͕̰̗͔̩̬̅̀̄̔̅̄̽͊̆̅̏̉̓͑̋̄͋̔̋̇͂́̏̈́̆̑͗͐͘̚t̵̢̛̛̟̤̫̗̜̭̙̮̠̥͔̥̼̫̠͙̰͇͇̤͓̩̦̑̇̎̋ͅ ̷̛̟̖̦̟̪̖̩͎̣͚́̔͒̓̈͊͐̒͑̓̇̓͋͐̍̏̏͋̕͘l̵̳̝̯͚͙͊͒̿̄̽̽̄̈́͑͝ͅͅA̴̢̢̛̦̘̝͑̾̾̀͂͗̀̽̑̅̕̕͝Ş̶̨̛̹͇͇͖̰̘͉͓̗̱͚͇̬͎̪͍͓̹͔͙̫̯̖̠̭̫̙̱̟̌͒͛̿̌̉͆̉̂̄̀̃̓̽̃̓́̾͗͒̃̓̾̏̉̈̊͘̕͘͘͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅS̶̢̨̧̛͔͓̞̼̻͎̥̺͎͇̼̺̫̻͈̻̣͕̳͇̎̀͂̈́̂̌͒̓̉͆̋̈̕̚͜͝t̵̡̧̛͈͖̭͙̭̝͖̲̭͖̅̊̑̋͝͝ ̶̢̛̗͕͙̘̠̬̪͗̇̀̍̈́̚M̴̢̯̬̗̔̽̑̋̐̓̈͂̓͆̐̿̑̑̎̒̔̐̈́̆̀́́͌̊̕̕̕͠͝͝͝u̶̡̨̡͖̮̭̙̣͈̪̲̻̖̻̠̲͓̠̯̣͖̝̪͓͖̝̫̘̫̺̙̲̞̣̦͕̟͂̏̅̂́̎͠͝C̸̟̪̾̎̾͊̊̍̎̃̅́̈́̌̐͛̾͂́͒̄̆̌̓͆͆̅̅̽̔͂̍̿͒͐͘̚͘͝H̴͙̝̙͎̺̘̰̰̩̣̀͐͑͂̄̕ ̷͚͕̫͇̤̞̪̥̈́̏͗̓̚͘͠͠ͅl̵̟͌̂̋͗͂̓̈́́͋̽̌́̓̿̅͒̽̏̓́̕͜͠͠͠͝͝ȏ̷̢̨̡̧̥̬̫̹͔̘͓͔̰̗̻̜̩̮͉̮̯̟͖͈̞̱̦̤̭̣͈͖̱̝͈͋́̏̒͝͠ņ̸͔̘̯̼̞̦̭͚̭̻̣̻̥̲̫͓̝̠͎̰̩̰̳̰̩͇̀̍̉̐̃͒͐͑͐̾́̌̌̓͛͋́̀̚͝͝͝g̷̛͈̬͉͉̩̟̖̰̯̗̦͙̫͔͖̠̯̖̜̳̙̺̳̰͕̺̹̺̥̣͛͑͛̿͛́̿̾̉̅̉̂́̄̅̾̈́͊̾̅͐̇͘͘͠͝ȩ̷̡̧̡̛͍̺̙̼͙͚̣̖͚͓̖̰̘̞̬̟̝͊̾́̈́̀̾͛̇̀̑̒̓̂̌͒̃̔̌̄͑̎͒͗̃̈́͋̎̾͑͘̕̚͜͝͝͝͠ͅȓ̷̨̨̨̛̞̦͓̼̜̗̤̰̜̳̤̱̪̪̳̙̳̣͖͉̩̝̟̮̜̩͚̠̘́̑͗̂̂̈́́͆̎͌̉̀͌̈́̋̈́̾͐̊̚͜͠͝ͅͅr̵̡͓̭̞̖̼̯̰̦̺͚̪̠̹̙̼͙͇̫̰̩̘͍̻̝̬̬͛̂̏͑̀̆́̎̿͋̅̄́̒̀̔̐̑̊͆̀́͆͒̈́̑̀̑̋̑̐̕͘̚͠͠͠ͅr̶̨̳̹͈͎̟̙̹̘̻̹͙͈̺̦̦̰͓̖̺͉͖͇̩̯̙͂͂͐̀̔̀̄̉̔̍̔̿̚̕̚͜͜͠ͅr̶̨̠̣͕̰̯̬̫̖͚̈́͂̒́̀̔̀̽̉̈́̏̽̐̀̈͐̉̿̊́͋̐̐̆̿̉́͊̉̌̕̕͘͝͠͝r̵̨̢̡̺̜̤̙̖̹̜͓̖̮̪̱͉͖̳̺̤͔̙͓̀̇̈͊̀̈͊͐͒̋̆͌̔̊̓͆̍͌̽͜͝͝ŗ̶̢̛̛̪̠̥̫͔̰͕̤̠͈̝̪͍͚͈͕̗̟̠͚͓̻̞̱̙͚̺̜͈̄͑́̋̈͆͂̀̏͗̌̎̌̑̓͛̂̓͐͛͒̾̾͋̈́̾̚͘̕͜͠͠͝͠͝͝ͅ ̸̛̟͕̮̙͉̰͕͕̘̤̖̤̯̻͕̔̑̒͐͊͌̋̂͗͛̈͛̑̌̀̓̐̎͛̍͊͒̊̈́̒̓̌̀̕̕͝w̷̨̢̛̮̬͇͓̩͍̮͕̘͇̙̭̹̬̺̲̠̋̿̇̅̈́͛́̓͌̒̉̐͒̏͑̅͊̑͐́́͛̽̈̅̇́̇̀͋͘͜͝͠ͅî̴̡̨̢̡̹̤̹͙͔̣̠͖̦̤͖͍̲̯̭̤̫̙̳͖͖̺̦͙̳͍̠̭̦̤̌̉͆̾͛̈́̇̈̌͊̾̀̃͒̋̓̂͌̍̉̍͋̈́̀̃̓̓̅̇̕͜͝͝ͅͅţ̸̛̎̑ḩ̸̡̛̤͓̰̙̞̳̻̗͔̙̏̿̀̓̀̾͋̊̏͜o̶̢̡̡̡̢̡̯̭͎͙͚̖̘̤̩̼͓͙͎̯̣̖̫̱̟͓̘̥͔̮͇̹͇̍̓̋̈́̈́̉͆̿͌̒́̏̍̂͋̏͒̽̋͑͛̈́́̀͋̓̍̇̋̅̅̀̋͒̚͘͠ͅͅͅù̵̢̧̝̬͚̗̯̰̗͎̲̺͇̙̣̙̪̣̣͓̘̑̽͋̏̊̍͌͂͗̅̂̀͊̀͒͐͆̀̿̂̏͋̔̐̓́͒̃̑̚̕͜͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅt̸̛̛͍͍̤͂̐̀̃͋̋̈́̌ͅ ̸̗͕̮͔̜̜̞̻̠͕̰̩̻̑͜͝͠h̸̭̺́̽̆̐̓̌̋̈̿̆̾̂̒͛̅̕i̴̠̹̬̰̾̈́̚͜ë̸̢͎̱̜͍͎̲͈̬̬̪̣̣̬̖̘̩̯̘̭̞̹̠̝̮̙̼̰̙̮̭̟̻̖̼̪́̌̓̔͂̔͌̌̕̚ͅm̷̧̛̺̩̩͎̟̫̫̦̻͓͔̞̻̳̪̜̬̬̣͕̱̬̣̫̥̗̹̠̪̼̌͋̆͗̋͂̅̒̋͒̉̈́̊̌̌̒͗͆̍̅̌̅̈́̆̾͑̈́̂͘̕͘͜͝ͅͅr̶̡͕̖͈̖̺͎̗̝̮̮͕̘͆̄̊̓̈́̆̃̅̿̋͛͐͛̊̈̇͌͒͂̀͑̀́̎̓̊͐̀͊̚̕͝ ̷̢̢̠̪̬͍̝͔̩̝͕̱̪͈̗͕̣̣̺̟̱̆̓̈́͆̊̇̄̊̕͠͠͝ͅḧ̶͚̹̓̓̄̈́̓̓̿̈́̿̓̔͑̐̀͋͠͝ë̶̛̛̛̟́̀͐͊̏͂̎͊̈́͊̓̾̍̔́͊̿̇͑̈͆̾͗̐̉͐̈́́̂͛̚̕͜͠͝l̶̡̡̦̖̙̩̞͍͈̻̥̳͙̞̹̜̗͓̠̮͖͚͔̪̭͎̠̺̙̭̋́͂̅̎̏̍̂̆̿̈́̈́̈̏͜͜͝p̵̡̧̛̻̟͉͙̹͖̘̲̺̺̼͉̮͎̻̙̥̐̽͜p̶̧̳̟̤̟̺̱͙̗̹̥̻̳̜̝̭̪͎̝͍͉̜̰͈̹͇̱͉̆̈́̑̈́̓̉͑͑́͊̉̆͊̈̇̃̈́̇̂̚̕̚ͅp̸̨͕̜̮͇̫͖͖̱̣͇̤͇̮̞̰̰̳͙̻̗̀͌̆̍́̈́̇̓̍͛̌̌̈̀̔̐̃̊͒̽̌̽͌̕̚͘͘͘̕͜ͅ!̵̢̢̛̛̪̖͉̭̝̥̙̯̣̞͍̤̝͉̘͍̝̭̯͔̼͓͈̩̝̽̋͗̋̆̓̄̾̋̂̊̚̕͝͝͝"̶̮̅̂̾̐͌̎͛͆͆̑̌͛̏̂̓͗̚̕

The nurse was beginning to s̸̢̨̛̳͚̮̫͚͍̭̲̞̯̪̳̫̺̘̖͖̖̻̞͇̤̮̲̮̰̏̿̐̉͜͝ͅ0̵̹̱͓͖̐͊͊̈́͒̓̍͛͋̋̐̈̔̈̾̐̈́́̎̀̓̀͗̑́̚̚̕͝b̸̨̡̩̺̹̦̰͇̙̮͚̮̫̥͇̠̞̩͕̤̟͙̥̻̻̯̯̭̰̺̘̻͉̱̌̀̋͋͋̎̄͊͜͠ͅͅ. Her h̴̡̡̢̧̘̘̣͓̳͓̖̣͈͎̲͇̱̜͙͔̠̠̫̣̗̼̖͉͔̦͑͑̋͆͛͊̃̄͒́̓̍̃̀͊͆̕̚͜͝i̸̡̛̙̗̤̞̫̖͇̮͇̠͈̼̫̝͚̹̬͖͚̹͇͍̤͎̰͉̯̣̙͙̍̽̉͐͆̈́̒́͊͘ͅğ̸̛̛͕̣͗̀̅͗̀̎͊͐̆̔̀̂̈́͐͌̈̋̍̀͒͂̐̎̏̚̕̚͠ͅh̶̺̞͚͛́̏̑̓̓̆͊̾̊̕-̶̡̧͙̥̯͚͖̞͉̭̭̼̍̎̔̽̃͘͜p̸̧̬̬͍̾̀͊̐͛͒̃̄͐́͗̀̆̊́͋̓͆́̔̾̓͑̓͝͝͝͝ì̵̯͚͈̓̏̉̒̑̅̌͒͗̍̇̊̓͂̉͑͑̎̏́͌̉͌̑̿̀̈̾̈́̕̚͠t̷̨̛̤̙̠̯̗̗̠̬̲͇̮̎͑͛̈́̾͑͌͗̾͋̊̔͑͆͒̅̍̆͂̾̉͘̕̕̚͘͝͝͠c̵̡̢̛̛̱͈̻̩͕͈̮̹̹̘͉̳̘͙̤͉̬̼̤͍̥̠͍͚̭͋̓̂́̎͊h̷̛̫̦́̾̐̿̐̀̑͐͂̆͛͂͐̏̇́͛̌̇̉̆͘͜͝ͅȩ̵̧̛͎̤̭̦͚͙̠͇̓͒̇̅̀̊̀́͗̎̒̌̈̓͋̄ͅd̷̨̡̧̹̥̲̠͎͉̪̺͚̈́͑̈́̀̽̈́̔̿̿͐̍̊̂́̈́͛̀̐̈́̈́͐̎̕͘͘̕̕͝͝͝ ̶̗̙̓̓̋̄̿̓̏ droning was incessant and obnoxiously loud. Whether out of obligation or for the sole reason that he didn't want to ḧ̴̢̨̫͕͈̙̪̟͕̣̙̤̭̠̥̮́́͆̔̊͌̿̋̕̚ͅḙ̷̠̰̺̱̻̻̤͖͙͉́̄a̴̧̨̲͎̖̮̤̘̟͈̬͉̲͍̬̳̳̜̻͗͐̔̂̑̕͜r̴̢̧̛̰͚͖͚̞͇͍̙̤͇̠͉̞̪̘̣͂̑͐̑̾̇͘͜͜ ̵̲̈́̿̓̄̑͊̄h̵̛͉̫̝̪̩͂̽̇̀̈́̅͌̎͐̓̄̓̄́͗ȇ̵͎̐̀͗̏̄͂͂̈̈́̓̾̅̑̏̉̈́́̀͛r̴̡̛͕̼͚̠̱̮͔̪̤̠̮͂̅͐̍̓̇̋̒̌̾̂̿̆͝͝ ̷͉͓̱̈̎̾̽͐̚m̷̡̡̧̱̰͔͎̳̥͚̬͇̠̰̯͎̝͗͊̈́̃͗͗̒̀͆̚͠ͅa̵̢̦̠̺̓͗̀̐͛͗̎͋̒̊͑͑̍͌́͂͘̕̕͝k̶̞̺̪͎̭͇͓̓̒̐͠e̵̡̩̮͇̾͂͊͆̇̋̀͗̂͛̉̊̒͆͘̚̚͝ ̶̛̱̳̍̉̈́̑̎̿͒̋̂̎̈́̓̀̓͐̎t̶͎̥̞̻̥̫̪̠͉̥̺̀̉͗̈́̍͠ͅh̷̨̢̧̢̘͔̗̰̟͙̮̪̟̞͔̩̻́͂̅̈̊̓͛͌̏͐͜͠å̵̛̲̟̟͓̳̼̤̯̈́̂͑̓̾̓͘͝ͅt̴̡͚̳̦̝̻̩͍̮̏̋̓̀̂͒̽̍ͅ ̶̡̢͕̺̻͎̳̹͖̌̔͋͐͐̒̓͆͂̓́̌̿͌̀̈́ͅş̵̧̗̰͔̏͒̃̽̀o̴̦͖̯̘̼̐̄̐̐̽̌̎́̔͘͘͜͠͝ư̶̱̘̲͓̳͔͉̝̏̓͆̑͝ͅn̷̳̲̰̭͉̓̀̆̈́͘̕d̴̛̥̳̺͍̜̀̏͊̈́͑̅̅̏́̔͆̿̓̍̔̕̕͠ ̴̧͖̥͍̹̞̦̙̘͈͍̠̈́͛̂͆̒̿̀͂̊͋̓̄̊̀͘ ẩ̷̧̛͇͍͓̤͕͚͍̹̬̹͖̃̎̍̃͂́̽͋̾̌̀̎͗̎̿̊͊̔̍̓̍̎̽̿̀̆́̚͝͝͠n̵̡̡̳͉̥̯̥̮̬̰̝͛̉̚y̸̧̛̲̱͎̟̗̼͓̗͎͙̮̭̍̌̿̀̋̀́̓̇͗̈͒̿̏̄̈́̚̚͝͠m̶̢̖̥̣̗̩̘͉̋̾̋̐͋̽͛̌̉͒̚͜ǒ̷̦͉̦͕̟̬̞̮̠̳͓̺͇̱̜͍̪̠̞͚̖̘̖̺̥̮̯͉̗̤̰̯̹̠̮͑̔̒͗́̓̐̏̔̀̾̔̃̐̿̐̈̉̒̀͒͛͗̕̚͘͠͝r̷̨̨̢̥͎̹̖̝͙̪̲̤̝̱̭̲͕͓̞̭̻̦͙̲̻̯̭̭͚̺͇̃̊́̆̀͆͑̾͑̀́ę̵̛͎̭̘̘͈̩͉̼͍͇̟͐̔͗͛̃̊͒̿̋̑͛͊̓̇͆͆͑̆̏̔̇̆͒̽͒̃͋̋̆̑̍̀̕̕̕͜͝ ̸̢̹̘̹̫̜͍̗͕̱̩̫͙̤̱̣̦̹̘̓͂ͅh̸̢̢̨͖͎̟̱͉͕̘̥̰̹̗̤̖͖̖̭̱͈͔̮̦̻̫̝͔̘̮̬͚̅͑̑͑͒͐̿́̆̂̐̊̃̽́̌͘̕͜͜͠ȩ̸̡̢̤͎͚̜̘̺̬̮̱͉̘̣̙̩͚̫̱̝͙̦̗̰̰͍̬̦̣̲̗̼̻̝̓͊͜ ̸̡̧̢̖͕͍̦͇̩͍͓͙̼̮͎̜͍͉͇̹̥̺̳͖̗͔͎̝̀͐͆̓͐͑o̸̹͚͚͈̻͈̻͈͇̟͕̖͇͎͒̐͋͛̑̀̐̇͌̈́́̏̿̋̍͜͜b̶̧̖͇̜̞̯͚̹̹͉̺̲̗̙̫̞̥̱̖̰̲͙̜̥͛̊͜ͅl̷̡̢̢͚̠̜̦͍̯̻̪̙̠͚̖͉͈̯̪̜̥̩̝̣̙̟̜̘̱̲̱͖̦͇̮̐͆͗̈́̌͘͜͠ͅį̴̛̜̟̠͓̭̑͛̄̒́͆̊̾̌́̓̿̐̅͌̽̽̄̆̾̃͒̓̑̀̀̀̚͝ͅg̸̛͇͊̾̏̋̀͒̀̄̉̈́̆͌é̸͇̝͚̞̹̞̯̱̀̏̏̊͋͘͜͠͝d̸͙̹͖͇͕̟̼͔̜̖̣̲̝͖̗͓̞̞͐̄̓̔̃̈̉̈̄̚͠ͅ ̶̢̢̛̬̠̘͈̬̞̤̪͖̹͇̪̖̲̰̖̜͎̙̳̰͎͖̲̼͉̝̙́̓̈́̈́͊̓͜͜͝ t̴̡̳̰͔͉̹̮͑̉̑̑̒͌͗͐͜͠ǫ̴̡̭̹̲̬͕͈̟͚͆̽̓ her request.

**Ţ̴̛̦̹͓̱̘̖̆̒͐̂̎̃̾͗̈́͌̔̀́̇̈́̀͘͘̕͘͠͠͠͠ȃ̷̧̱̣̦͚̝̠͚̠̗̮̃͐̌̀̄̄̀̀͗̽͘̚̕k̸̨̡̡̡̗̰͖̝̱͇̮̰̰̘̥̪̪̦̼̳̪͇̻̦͙͖̼͕̺͚͉̭̦͊̊͋͐ͅȅ̶͈͚́̒͝ ̶̨̪͎̹͖͖͕̼̲͉̠̜̹͓̤͍̣̟̝̗̹̝͐̾̄́̌͆̄͜͝ͅt̷̨̢̨̛̛̯̪͚̳̤̲͕̣͚͕̜̦͖̙̘̤͕̟̞̲͈̉̃̾̉̃̓̉̋̍̀̇̉̃̓̇̉̑̓̋͌͋̀̒͜͝͠ͅh̶̨̯̭̯͇͂͒̅̀͂͑̈̉̂̃͆͆̀̚͝͝͝ę̸̹̱̥̥̫̥̯̫͍͔͉̳͔̗͎̫͉̎̀̎͗̋̀̓̅̂ ̸͖̮͖̞̙̲͎͕̺̇́̀͆̉͒͛̋͗̓́̏̃͂͝͠p̷̨̩̝͓̺̜̩̫͔͕̤͕̈́̑r̷̨̧̝̳̲͙̰̭̱͍̗̹̳̖̳̦͖̤͙̣͖͔͕͉̱̩͈̗̭͔͑̈́̈̓̈́̅̋̀̊͜͝ͅȯ̴̫̼̮̗͉̖̜͎̘͕̿̆̓̓́͐̓̂̔͝m̸̡̛̛͍͇̠͎͚̙̯̝̐̏̉͒̄͛́͒̈̾͆̅̍̆̏̊͊̒͋̿̽̓̋̈͂̅̍̋̑̌͋̃͛͝͠ ̷̺̠͈͕̟̦̥̝͓͎̯̞͕̺̖͓͖̭͈̖̜̮̳̫̗̬̻̖̦̠̺̏̿̓̌̾̉̒̄̀̾̎̍̏̀̆̈̄̑̀̌͆̓̽̈̅̄̽͝͝ḩ̷̨̢̛̺͍̖̖̗̞̬̳͖͈̦̯̱̘͙͍̘̬͖̥̘̻̳̝͇̱̲̗̳͕̻͛̈̽̐̑̒̈́̉̾̂͑̀̄͛̐̋̐̕͜͜͝͠͠͝e̷̡̨̥͙͈̬̙͍̦̺̼͓̮̘͈͚͇͂̍̑̇͛̑͗̒͐̉͝ͅr̶̛̩̘̥̘͈̬̹̹̹͇̗̩̩̠̊̔͂̇̓͒͗̇̊͑͐̃̓͆̅́̇̏́̊͑͛̆̀̔͘͘͜͝͝͠͝͠.̶̨̛̼̤͖̫̭͉̃̏͌̈́͒̀̑͌͂́͂̈͑̉̂̈̋̃̾̎̇̈́̈̅͘͘͜"̶̛͕̩͍͚̺͍͍̟͉͚̻͇̥͉̩͕͖͉̱̬̖͉̱̰̰̜̣͉͇̾̋́̈̒̊̈̈́̃̋́̿̍̾̀̓̉̀́͊͜͝͝ ̴̝̫͍͑̓"̷̢̢̢̛̛̫̘̥̙̩̰̯͓̳̉̓̀̊̈́͒̿̓̃̽̍̃̀̄͛͊̌̎̑͑̏̐͆͂͒̽̾͑͘͘͘ͅH̷̢̛͎̲̺͇͎̞̲̟̪̞̟̖̱̫̳̫̻̹̭̭̙̠̱̹̥̓̍̀̾̔̓͋̐͒̋̍̒́͆̓͛̏̊͛̔̉́̉͠͝͝ơ̸͇̆́̀͊̇̓͊́̒͗̑̓̅̍̈́̀̈́̀͌͊̾́͘̚͝͝͝p̴̢̠̙̲͖̺̠͚̖̰͎͉̻̠̝̟̃̽̂̈̔̈́̓̑͑̒̐̚͝͠ȩ̸̡̩̙̩̮̬͇͓̤̝̻̌̍͋̎̓̀̈́̓̌͂͌̿̎̒͌̑́̊̒̀̈͐͌̃͐͌͆̽̊͋̈̚̕͠͝͝͠ ̸̧̛̘̦̟̫͚͔̪̿̑̈́̈͊̍̈́̄̓̒̔͂̀̏͗̐̋̐͐͌̈́̀̎̂͑̌̌͋̒̒̃͝ḯ̵̡̛̹̜̯͕͚̙͖̀̽̀̎̏́̈̌͒͛͌́̀̄̊̏̅̽͜͝͝͝s̶̢̢̡̨̛̛͍̦̣̰̻̱̖͈͚̹͚͈̫͌̓́͌͋͋̎͗͌̓̽̑̈́͗̃́̿̍̎͂͊̄̍̀̔̒̈́̊̀͒͆̾̅ ̷̨̢͔̻̠̟̭̤̺̦̣͇̠̜͈̠͔̤̝̜̂͐̓͌͂͛͗̄̌̆̈̈́̌̍͐̍̀̚͜͠ͅą̴̩͙͎̙̘͓̣̤̟̠̮̥̹̙͕̣͎̪̞̺̖̼̐͜͜͜ ̸̨̨̨̢̢̛͉͓̟̙̼̬͕͚̗͇̱̫͋͊̌̑̓̾̆̿̒̂̀͑͊̓̓̈̃̓̈́̾͑̃̅̓͐̿͋͆̕͝͝͠b̸͇͙͈̬̫̩͕̪̳̮̞̠̩͍̪̥̳͂͜ͅę̷̢̡̧̣͎͔̖͚̬͍̝̰͎̱̣͉̙͚̟͈̘̬̥̞͈̱̒̔͛̉́́͐̈́̾̈͜͜ͅţ̸̳̹̼̗̺̀̋̎̊̐̈́̂́̽͐̆̍̿̔̆̊͗̅̿͊͋̈́̃̐̈̓̚t̷̨͉͎̟̯͉̭̣͇͓̲͈̞̮̙̼̖̬̾̐̎̉̌̆͘̕ͅé̴̡̨̛̹̥͓̮͔͎̝̹̫̜̣̟̞͍͈̗̘̱͍͈͖̣̣̫̈̈́͑̀̃̍̉͊̚͘͜͜͝͠͝r̴̨̬͔̦͕̻͓͓͖͙͕̯̣̙̭̩̲͂̈̈́̏́͊ ̴̢̢͚͉͙̲͎͈͎̟͉̞̥̇̾̿̎́͌̈͆͑͌̔́̍̐̒̃̃̕̕͝͠͠͠f̶̡̧̛̛̫̣̘̺̰͈̥̣̜͓̬̗͔̭̤̻͉̬̹̰͕̣̦̫̩̗̗͉͎̻̳̰̂̀̒̓̎̊̅̿̎͘̕ͅu̵̧̡͇̯͎̞̘̣̳̲̞͔͉̮͕̜̘̫̜̼̥̻̱̠͕͙̪̦͎̖͚͙͌͂̈́͐͜t̷̢̢̧̧̛͚̰͖̭̟͇̠͇̼̠̖͚̙̹̯̻̘͖̦̥̯̳̰̮͇̬̞̰̹͔̪͆̑̽̆̂̈̀͑̆̋̍͑̄́̌̇͘͜͝͝ų̷̧̧̛̥̮͎̻̝̜̣͎̰̥̹͈̙̯̳͍̖͇͇̮͚̳͚͍̜̒̈́̓̔͑̏̔͋̂̍̓̈͋̆̚̕̚̕͜ͅr̵̨̡̢͖̣̘̠̫̤̼̻̞͇̦̫̣̯̤̬̖̐͗̈́̎̇̄͐̋̏̈̽̊̀̑̾́̇̓́̂́͋̐̿̃̀̆͋͒̋̏͗̍̀͝͠ę̷̧̡̢̡̫͓͍͙̩̗̫͈̹̘̩̗̰̠̳̳̫̩̬͉̦̦̙̭̯̫̗͔͇̊͂̍͊̈͜ͅ.̴̡̢̛̪̘̳̱̗̳̣̹̪̩̫͕͓̥̰̬̟̳̆̑̍̋̀̓̋̚͜͝͠ ̵͚͈̫̜̩͙̻̟̭̗̅̈́̾̏̉̔Ỷ̸̡̛̛̬͚̰̮̫̲̻̬͚̗̟͓̈́̈́͊̽͗̂̑̽͛̉̋́̂́̒̐̚̕͝ͅo̶̡̗̝̹̣͎͓̝͈̠͍̘̜͉̐̈́͝͠ͅǔ̷̻̯̫͇̼̤̞̣̺̦̝͚̤͈̳̱͌̈̿̾̎̎̎͊͗̂̒͋̽̃̿͂̾̎̕͝͠͠ ̶̣̣̏̀͛̀͑̃͊̇̈́̀̃̑͊̆̓͑̓͆̂̾̀̅̐̿͗̚̚͝á̶̡̨̢̧̡̛̫͉͖̻̘̹̣̙͉̫̖̯̬̲̙͖̲̟̮͔̺̺̰͍̱͍̭̼̃͐̆́̀̇̋̑̐̑̈́͑̅̅̐̆̏͒̈͗̇͌̚̕̕͜͠͝͝ͅͅŕ̷̨̢̡̢̰̬̳̦̽̂̽͑̑͆̏̒̋̐̈́̐̉̆͆̉͋̓̔͌̆̎͐͑̅̌̋͂̌͑̈̕͠ͅͅe̸̢̢̢̡̢͎̝͎̦̰̥̪̺̪̱͇͎̘̳̹͉̤̩̟͇͉͙̝͋͋̾͗͐̓̆͆͌̉͜ ̶̧̢̡̢̠̺̙͈̥̱̠̠̲͚̦̦̫̤̱̝͕̹̄͑͆ͅj̷̱̣͉̥̹̣̩͍̰̝͉̳͕͔͒̄̌̌̈̇̉̀̂̎́̀̀̌̏̇̎͌̑͆͒̀̊̓̀̚͝͝ͅö̶̧͎͎̦̦̟̬͚͇̮́̃y̴̡̢̨̧̻̰̠̝̱̮̭̳͉͇͉̣̰͙̫̪̮̖͍̝̦̦͙̪̻̰͛̽͑̈́̎̀͂̋̏̑͂͂̌͌͊̎͒͗̃̄̈́͑̈̓̓̀͌͊̋͛̓͒̚͝͝ͅͅ ̶̢̢̰̗̰̩̬͉̞̥͉̮̪̖̝͇͖̳͓̬̙̱̦͖̖̥̠̓̽̾̾̾̄́͐͘͜ą̵̧̛̛͇̖̭̝̮̺͔̯̹̰̣̈́͒̑̃̏̈́͂̊̉͋͂͒̕͝͠w̵̢̡̛̼̗̯͙̙͕͔̹͎͕̘̼͋̽̈́́̈̎͒̽́͋́̅͜͜ä̴̧̡̛͍̟͔͎͉͎͉̩͖̱̝̱̥̝̭͙͕͓̮́̾͐̎̌͛̓͗̃̓̄̀͑̾̐͐̿̐̚͘͝͝ͅy̴͖̤̰̠͉̼̾ ̴̡̡̜̱̲̼̠͉͕̲͚̜͈͈̜͇͈̭͐̓̀̀̾͆̄̄̓̓͐͋̃́̾̉̈́̅̔̇͒̓͝f̷̨̨̺̤̹̻͓͖̣̞̰̺̞̲̻̦̤̣̦͎̘̈̀̓̄̅̿̾͗́̂̀͝͠ͅr̵̨̨̦͚̞̘̯̤̪͙͍̯̘̞̤͍̜̞͔̯̞̬̰̹̰̱͒͛̾͗́̌̉̋̅̇̍͐͛̓̈́̉̋̄̉̚͘͜͜͠͠ͅo̸̹̜̱̹̜̫͇̺̹̮̭̖̘͓̱̐͗̒̀̅̃̇̓̉͛̾͌͌͐͐̇͘̚͜ͅm̴̡̢̡̡͍͎̳͉̲͔̗̥͙̗̰̲̻̱̰͇̰̼͎̙͖̘̣̬̗̗̺͕͙̰̗̝̃̆̂̎̏̋́͂̾͝͠ͅ ̶̧̢̜̘͎͔̩͓͛͆͂̑̍̊̄̌͂͑̈̏͒̔͌̌̾̄̍̚͝͠ḧ̶̢̨̢͙̺̭̙̞̻̥͖̳͍̼̦̱̙͖̣̠͓̟̹̟̮̲͓̮̭̟̼͓͔̾͆̋̃̽̓̄͌̄̾̀̂̀̓̓̀͋̈̈́́̓͘͜͠͠è̵̗̪̊̅̓̆̒́̂̽̊̂́̔̎̔̒̾̓̉͘͜r̶̨̨̨̗̤͚̩̲̝̩̠͙͙̲̜̯̰͌̐̄̆̊̔̈́̈̿̇̚͠͠͝.̶̮̊̽̈́͊͑̅́̚"̸̭̻̞̱̮̤̈̽̍̈̔̈́̑̓̽͑̈́͘͠͠ ̵̨̧̨̮͓͓͙̥͓̮̞̟̠̳̖̞̥͚͆́̃̈̿̎̚̚ͅ"̴̤͓̯̈́̑̂͛͆̈́͊̅́̇́̃͑̎̔́̊̓̄͒͋̄̉̓̌̿͘͝͝͠͝͠H̶̡̤̩̫̙̞͉͇̰̭̗̥̯̭̫̮̱̦͓͇̺̮̲̲̘̮͌̿́̑͗̋̂̑̆̋͑̄̈́̄̋͛̑̂̓̉͌͆̅̋̈́̾͌̈͊͛́̌͠͠͝͝͝ǫ̸̨̢̧̬̞̜̠̤͉̦̫̱̞͚͙̖̫̞̩͍̰͓̜̯͔̻͖̻̑͆̇̅̋̓̽̐̽̐̈́͐͛͛͌̉̒̋͑̆͆̔́͒͌̉͆̌͠͝ͅp̷̡̨̧̨̛̛̜̝̯̺̣̘͚̞̫̪͈̳͉̯̬̟̙̠̬̠̮̫̿̌̀̾̈́͌̇̐̀̀͑̍̊͂͌̀̈̃̔̿͊̄͐͜͠͝͝ę̶̧̝̟͎̜͚͓͇̙̖̰̪̟̥̼͚̰̣͎̹͖͙̯̖̦̞̝̥̆̒̀̔͊͆̍̽̑̾́̔͘̕̕͝ ̴̫̪̺̗̩̠͚̲͔̬͎͎͖̠̺̹̭̺̝̙̰͈̳͚̹̜̦̳͆̽̍̒ͅi̶̢̨̢̡̧̨̧̢̞̜͍̟̪̦̯̮͉͕̼̬͙̗̣̯̪̭͈̺̠̺̝͔̔̑̈́̍̋͜͜͝ş̶̢̧̡̨̺̬̲͔͕̺͕̫̯̘͉͖͓̼͉̜̪̫͚̖̯͓̼̇̊̒̑̒̒͗̀̈́́͘͜͝ͅ ̷̡̨̼̰͓̖̼͚̝̭̯̼̱̩̯͕͇͖̻̫̖̑̌͋̽̄͐̇̿̈́̆̎̂͐͗͑̇̀́͑̓͆̃̕̚͝͝ä̸̡̢͓̰͓͉̘̝̜̻͚̞̦́̓̅̒̏͗̓̈́̾͐̎̏̓͋͘̕̚͠ ̷̧̢͚͙̳̲̪̩͎͎̯̹̭͖̜͙̥̩̯̰͉͐̂̍̈́̌̽̂͐̀̑̑͐́̆̌̂̓̋͊̆̓̒͆̎̇͆̔p̵̡̨̢̺̘̖͖̜̩̻͚̠̭̹̘̪̣̹͚̱͚̲̥̬̖̬̭̤̻̠̬̺̽̽̊͘ͅͅŗ̵̛̝̥͚̝̖͈̳̙̫̠͍̘̪̹̩̙͚̪̜́͊́̑̆̄̾̉̐̐̔̃͂͗̇̎͊̕͜͝ͅę̴̨̛̠̱̘̰͇̹̯̘͇͙͙̯̯̗̯̼̱͚͓̹͈̮͕̤̺͚̎̑͒̃̂̐̓̌̑͊̆̄̀́̾̋̃̌̉̀̊̈́͒̋͐͂͛̆͘͜͜͜͜ͅş̴̡̛̛͍̗̪̳̙͙̫̥͎͍̮̟̝͓̟̰̖̺͉̬͙͉̾̿̃͗͋̀̌̐̈́̓͌̒̎͐̉̓̌̾̍̀̐̌̌̈͋̂̒̑͊̚̕͘͝͠͝ȩ̵̧̙̫̭͍͇͕̺͖̥̫̮̗̞̘͖͈͙̲͇̞̝̞̫̖̰̣̮̿͛̎̊͂͑̎̆͊͒͐͂̍̽̐̀̽̏̾́͘̕͝͝ͅņ̵̢̡̨͈̭̘̖̺͍̼͉̦̦͍͚̙͙͇̎̉̎͌̈́͐̿̚ẗ̶̗͕͓̠̩̺̥́̄̿͋͑̆̑̅͂͊͌̎̍͌̎̒̈́̏̕͘̕͘͝͠.̷̧̫̘̫͔̣̮̭̥͖̜̯͈͓̺͐̾̈́̆͋̏͌̊̒͜ ̵̨̡̧̡̛̦͉̻͕̯̯̯̞͖̥͈̱̲̜̳̞̺̥̝͔͇̿̒̈́̏̔̓̎͗̈́̌̿͒̽̋͆̈́͗́͋͛̕͜͝͝ͅT̷̨̢̛̤̺̥̰͈͋̃̾͗̀̋͋̽͂̐̔̽̑͆͑̎̿̋̽̕͝͝ą̴̡̨̛͇̖͚͓̯͕̯͇͕̣͚͓̭̝̹̼̣̺̳͎̭̟̳͒̌̈́̿̈̊́̆̈́̆͋̅̍̽͆̋͒̏̌̾̀̀̆̂̊͊̂̆̄̚͝͝͠ͅk̵̢̩͖͙̰̲̪̲͈͓̞̄̍̓͗̏̈́͒̈́̅̂͘ȩ̴́̔̎ ̴̧̢̛͖̟͇̫͓̟̜͎̼̙̥̩̲̫̖̠̪̗̥̱̫͕̙͑͒̋́̊̽͆̉̐͐̇͆͌̂͜͜ẗ̷̡̺̹͚̳̬͕̦́̊͊̓̅͋̓͒̏͊̅̈́͌̓̈́̒̿͗͒͗̄̉̀̽̊̃̉́̄̾̑̌͂͘̚͝͝h̸̢̢̛̞̝̘̺̟̼̗̹̙͕̺͉͇̟̤̼̦̣͈̠̩̔̔̎̎̌̏̓́̆͊̉̈̐̽̑̔̽̆̃̊͑̈́̄̈̾̈̓̚͜͠͝͝͝ͅę̵̢̢̛̛̫̗̺̪̱̲͚͇̪̑͗̾̅̄͑͛̈́̃̉̓̀̓̊͂͘͘͘͜͝ ̵̙͍̫͈̜̤̳̖̻̰̦̹̖̳̬̟̾̐̿̑́͑̀͐̏͂͗̑́̏͌̈́̆͒͘͘͜͝͝͝p̶̧̠̩̪̫̠̺͖̬̫͎̖͈̣͓̱͙̪͎̓̒͗̌͒́͠ǫ̵͈̲͔̑́ş̵̢͈̯̦̱͙͖̝͓̙̼̺͕̝̘̪̞͈̪̰̰̟̣̩͓͓̿̌̎͆̾̐̽́̾̂͛̀̐͗̊͒̏̽́̽̐̾̍̂̉̃̈́͆̽̅̈̒͘͘̚͝͠s̴̨̨̛̗̺̩͉͍̦̰͍͎͓̪̬̞͖̣̭̾̽̐̂̈́̉̓̽̅́̎́̑͊̌͂͋̽ͅį̵̧̧̨̢͖͙͖̣̯̫̣͓̜̪̭͕̝͎̰͉̗̝̭̳̥̠̖͍̻̠͈͕̞̟̈́̀̀͒̒̈́̅̽̇͛̾̅͒͛̎͛͒̑̊̈́̒ͅḅ̶̈́̑̉̃̀̑͐̿̚͘͠i̶̧̠̯̜̼͕̺̗͎̺̥͍̣̦̠͖̦̻͎̮̪̪̦͕̮͙̳͖̫̣͈͎͎̰̐̍͆̂͌͜ͅḻ̵̢̛̛͉̣̥̰̫͍̣͍͈̰̗̤̞̫̭͍̱̞͎͔͈̭̋̂̑̅̄́͊̈́̿̒̾̾̈́͗̌̅̔͑̈̊̈̇̀̚̕̚͠͠i̸̢̡̡̢̡̛̜̼̜͎̝̙̻̞̥̭̠̮̣͎̪̞̖̗̫̥̪̫̺̗̠̝͑͑̾̎́̇̎̏͛̓͂̈̎̊͊̌̈́͒̀̉̐̓͌̈́̌̈͘͜͠͝͝͝ͅͅͅt̷̢̡̩̬̺͕͔͈̹͎̱̟̙͖̩̯̬͓͔̲̠̝̤̙̻̍̏̿͛̇͜ͅy̴̨̧̡̫͈͕̠̼̙͎̜̪͕̭̙͖̫͎̼̝͙͕̝͖̳̘̹͑͐̂̋́̈̊͋͒̾̃̉̽̀̃̀̿̄̔̏͌̇̑̌͆̆͒̅̿̃͘̕͜͜ ̵̨̢̛̹̲̗̙̥̱̬̭̠͕̩͇̜͎̲̬̞̯̭͕̦̲̜͙́͊̈́͒̅͑̅̄̎̓̉͌́̃̍̍̾̐̉̎͊̃̃̚͜͜͝ͅo̵͙̣̻̺̭̭̜̯͈̘̳̙̹̮̭̺̳̤̻̟̲̘̰̫͍̲͚̬͐͘ͅf̷̬͇͔̹̩̩̫͕͚̼͉͈͖̲͍͓̮̣̍͐̾̂̆̑̓̇̉̍͌̿͑̊͌͒̾̌̍̀͐͋́͘͠͠͝͝ ̸̡̡̧̛̤͓̤̣̖̗̥͎̬̠̜͚͚̲̱͓̦͎͖͈̟̃̊̈́͐̇͑̽̐́̅̏̃̓͂̒̈́̅͐̈̿͗̚̚̕̚͝͠ͅf̸̛͖͗͋̓̐͂̀̂͊̀̍̉̀̄́̓̋̊͝͝͝͝ų̶̛͓̖͍͙̞̭̹̫̮̺͕̭̱͓̼̰̪̥͉̤̻̠͚̻͈͉͔̈́́͋͛̉͛̽̆̔͑͠ͅẗ̵̨̧̢̢̛̥̫̟͙͎͙͎͙̫̟̬̯̝͕͇͓̫̰͎̩̭̣́͛̓͂͊͗͑̈́̓̓̑̽̅͑̀̏̏̔̉́͆̀̂̉͘̕̚͝͠͝ͅų̶̧̢̲̯̩̠͉͕̘͖͇̱̹̜͉̣͎̲͈̱͙̳̙̫̗̫̺͛̀͑͂̾̀̈́͒̋͗̊̕͜͜ͅr̷̡͔̭̺̲̙̹̫̊͛͆͋́͐̈́̄̉͆͑̽̈͆̅̾̚͘é̶̖̪̞͑̈́̿̋͋́̓͠͝͝ ̵̢̛̛̰̳̱̥͎̲͉̖͕̹̥̖͈̠͖̦̙͍̤͚̹̤͔̲͕͖̱̖͕͎̠̩̙͛͂̃̒̽͑͒̾̈́́̑̊̉͌͂̈́͌̾̋͆̊̾̕͝͠f̷̢͙̜̟̯̖͚̬̼̝̳̰̤̾̾͐̅̅͒̈́͊̾̊̐̿̓͐͆̌̈́̎̐̓̾͠o̴͓̜͎̲̮̜̊̓́̄̊̍ř̸̗̯̫̣͚̪͓͊͒͗̏̀͑̆̋̕͘͜͠͝ͅ ̵̢̧̛̛͈̺͓͈̪̩̥̻͙̖͖̮͎͙͇̬̱̹̑̉̐̔͒́̋̃̈́͌̔̑̈́̉̄̇͊͂͋̀̌̋̀̕͠͝͝͠ͅͅa̵̛̛̹͎̪͕̟̱̩̹̫̜̯̥̣̟̲̖̺̯̲͍̝̰͎̔̍͂̉̾̄̊͐̅̂̃̈́͐͆͐̓̍̎̄̍͜ ̴̧̛̟͔̪̬̱̬̰͍͍̬̯̲̝̳̬̩̤̘̭̠͍͉͈͓̬̝̦̩̔̅͂̑̐͒̀̇̾̿͐̿̔́̔͐͐͌͌̔̽̂̐̂̊͋͐͐̈́͘͜͜͝͝p̶͓̻̠̥̟͇̜͎̖̹̼̯̝͙̠̩͖̪̠̬͔͂̈́̂́͐̇̉͌̀̕̕͝ŗ̷̨̨̧̢̰̼̰̪͕̖̪̟̜͓̲͍̦̲̟̤̗̖̘̳͚̱̔͒̋̈́̍͛͒̍́̿͗̿̍͋̇̍͜͝͝ö̶̧̨͈̟͇̟͎̪̭̘̳̮̭̪̱̤́̂́̈́̾̀͒̍̃͐̆̀̑̐̌͑̂̈́́̃͋̇́̋̓̅̽́̕ͅm̸̧̢̛͈̺͍͚͖͕̬̤͇͚̼̪̻̣̖̘̦͚̖̙̹̝̀̅͆͗̇̾̿̒̽̀͒́̉͑̌̋͗̑̈́̍̊̊̚̚̕͜͜͠͠͠͝͠ ̸̧̛͈̣͕̬̰̯̰̗͓͕̟̮̺̬̣͎̣̌̂̈́̑͗̀̿̊͗͐̅̈́͗̔̇̆͛͌́͆̾͂͆͛̌͋̚͝͠͠h̷̛̖̫̲̝̗͈̹̮̤̬̤̗͕̮̻̬̜̣̖͉̱͓̟̫̫̩̑̓̈́̽͆̅̀̔̏͐͑͊̒̉̀͘e̷̺̞̲̺͉͖̘̯̼̓̂͆̆͊̌̇͐̇͋͒̂̔̀̎̒́͆̽̋̒̑͂̈̒̓̃̓̄̄̐̕͝͝ͅr̶̨̡̻̰͇͔̥̞̤͍̗͎͚̳̹͔̦̀͊̒̉̓̔͐͆̋̀̾̓͗̿͋̆͒̒́̽͛̇̓͂͋̎̏͒̀́͗͘̚̚͜͝͝͝ͅ.̶͕͎͓͚̲̪̠̠̘̻͕͔͓̼͈̼̲̹͇̳̪̲̆͑͌̍́̐͊̆̌͜͜͝͠"̴̛̲̝̻̖͉̯͓̖͇̂̆́̈́̆̐̋́̋̓̊̇̃̇͒́̂̓̈́̕̚͘̚͜͠͝ͅ ̷̡̨̰͖̫̣̦̪̺͙̬͚͚͉̻͎̟̠̫̙̮̝̊͗̇̈͗͑̒͛̌̂̾̇̔̇̿̐̆̑̐̀̀̓̅̕̚͜ͅ"̴̡̗̦̗̝͍͉̠̭̲̼̫̹͓̮̣̟̝͖̻͔̮̖̦͔̫̬͓̐̽͌́͑̚͜͜H̸̨̨̧͍͙̘̹̱̜̥̞̱͈͇̗̩̱̠͐̀̈́́͂́̾͐̽́̔͑̀̐̈́͛̉͊̀́͋͋̂̾̎̾̓̕̕͝ò̶̢̨̢̘͖̙̘͙̖͍͙͔͈̠̺̭͔̹̖͕̮͔͕̗̘͕̠̻͓̣͉͚̠̰̎͐̓̂̑̒͂͋͊̃̕͜͜͝ͅp̵̡̜̳͎̳͓͙͈̫̬͓̮̳͑͂̈́̆́́̅̉̀͒̃́̑͊̓̄̊̈́̆̈́̀͒́͛̒̈́̋̿͠͝e̵͈̦͙͕̹̯̤̎̈̽͋̉̓̑̀̕ ̴̧̢̖͕̤̲͙̟̤̻̖̲̱̬̭̰̯͚͇͈͈̖͇͎̯͎̯͋ͅǐ̶̢̝̯̦̲̥̥͔̜͇̜̻͙̜̦̱̞̞͙̜͈̗̩̮͓̙̥̯͙̠͍͎̞̿̀̾̾̈̌̂̔̒ş̸͈̮̞̖͚̞̦̺͖̣͇̜͙͚͎͇̝̞̒̾̾̈́̌͐̚͘͜ ̸̨̨̛̱̱͍̟̩͉̣̗͖̪̠̪̖̤͖͕͇̋̾́̔̏̅͆̔̈́́̍̌̏̾͂̓͐̃̉̓̀̊̄̄͑̈́̅̈̕͝͝͠͝͝ă̸̡͈̞̹̯͈͕̙͎̠̩̦̝͖̖̙̰̰̱̍̄̿̀̎ ̷̡̧̧͍͈̩̞͍̬̪̲̪̥̘̰̳̫͍̃̓̌̂̂̀̑̈́̀̉̋̚̕̕͜p̸̨̨̧̛̟̬̗̞̲͇͉̹͕̺̙͙̟̳̣͚͎͍̻͒̀̿̃͑͊̇̍̇͌͊̓̓͐́̑̾̆̆̉͛̉͗̔̊̀͌͠r̴̫͎̩̳̜̟̜̼̋̓̋͋͒̿̍͗̈́̃̉̒̈̆̕ę̸̛̙͖̖̥̙̘͍̗̝̣̫̤̰̳̦̠̹̳̺̦͚̲̀̋͋̃̎̓̊̐̂͛͑̈́̑̓͆̾̈́̀͊͝ͅͅs̶̡̧͎̼̱̖̭͕̣̹͙̙͓̄̍͌̾ȩ̸̧̧̡̧̧̲͕̹̤̹̩̗̲̻̝̬̫̼̺̹̲͕̹̦̻̭͓̻̮̺̣̫̤͂̄̓̄̎͒̽͂̑̄̒͐͗̓̅̇̋̒̀̎̓̊̆́̍̚̚n̸̡̡̮̟̹̤̤̜͉͒̓̅̀̎̇̉̾͆̎͜t̷̛̺̯̤̼͕̫̝̪̙̰̪̐̌͋̊̑͑̑͑̒̐̉͊́̈̀̂̑̈̾̕͘͜͝͝.̸̝̱̞̘͛̆͛͗̀́͑̄̆͗̾̓̐̽͑̇̀͐͆͗̽̑͛̍̍̄̃͗̕̚͠͝͠ ̸̗̻̺̰̜͇̾̐̈́̂͑̕T̵̨̡̢̜̟̤̭͍͕̮͖͔̘̟͇̠̣͔͍̬̣̰̜͉̘͔͉͙̖̲̬̺̳̮́̾͛̽͊̇̒̅̄̽̀͌́̉́̉̔͆͌͗́̕̚͝ͅȃ̴̛̛̱̑̓͆̌́̏̇̈́̎̈́͐̾́̂̐̏̃̈̋̔̽̒̎̌̽̚͝͠ķ̸̨̳͍̦̪̲̞̤̘͈̩͕̬̼̺͕̝͎̺̯͇̟̞͍̣̊̈́̇̔͛̋͑̈́̾̋͗͛̂͗̽̋̇̾͛̈̀̾̎͐̆͗͜͝ͅȩ̴̢̡̡̼̭̘͕̗̗͈͍̜̯̙̝̥̬̥̱͚̝͚͎̩̦͎̭̞̿̇̀̀͊͒͑͛̀́̌̊͌̉̾̚̚͝͝ ̷̛̪̓̏̓̉̈́ẗ̸̡̢̨̛͕̖̼̘̟̜̲̭͇̼̪̹̩̖̤̱͔̙̦̼̼͇̠̠̯̺̣̠͓͇̬͎̅̓̌͑͂̚͜͝͠ḩ̸̧̡̗͖̝̭̜̮̯̺͖̖̭͕̙̣͓̻̱̩̒ͅę̴̢̛̗̼̯̝͈͖̭̩̯̭͍̭̠̫̺̱͉͖͓̙̭̤̜̣̖͎̯̤̫̈́̊͐̋̔͒̑̏͌̈́̃͊́̔́̉̈́͆̄̂̏͆̈́͗͐̿͆͆̚͘̚̚͜͜͜͠ ̶̨̢̛̘͙̝̥̹̙̖̓̀̓͌̈́̿̐̏̀͒̂͛̊͌́̒͒̽̀̈̽̊̇̚͘̕͠͝͝p̶̢̡̛̖̼̝͕̯͍̰̤̲̘͕̖͇̥̦̮̆̅̊̀̓̊̚ͅr̴̠͓̩͕͗͠e̶̙̬̰̺͓̲̪͙̎̊̇̅̍̀ͅş̷̛͙͙̗̣̫̬̰̙̞̞͎̜͖͈̼̙͓͚̺̪̜̣̙͖͈̿ȩ̷̛̞̼̞͖̲̫̟͙̘͙͖̥̳͖̼̰̗̹͓̹̲͉̲̳͔͈̩͍̥̭͉͔́͋͑̃̊̽̋͌̄͂͐̂͆̒̌̈̚͘͜͝ņ̴̯̲͓͇̻̰̝̙̗͚͎͙͕̼̠̰̟̟̔͋̈̄̐̿̒͘͜͝ͅͅͅt̷̛̼͎͚̰̱̿̈̓̓̈́̂͛͑͐̂́̿̽͛͆̉̄̉̆̄̈́̈́͠͠.̷̡̡͇̘̪̹̬̥̗̜̗͓͙̗̱͉̜͙͔̜̮̟͈̜͚͇͕̖̯̫͍̯̭̺̰͔̋̽̔͂̃͛͒̈́̌̌̇ͅ ̵̪̳̺͎̽͗̿͗͗̓̐̓̂́̉̂͒͆̒̏̇̒͒̒̈́̋̇̒͐͘̕Ţ̶̡̛͉̘͕̜̰͙̲̠̄̓̾̇̄̇̊͊̏̃͒̒͆̓́͒͘ậ̸̡̨̧̡̧̛̮̘̘̭͔͙͎̣̜͙̩͚̮̺̠̝̻̞̰̪̯̖̻̯̜͊̃̒͒̍̀̈́̂̓̈́͐̾͐̎̎̉͋̎̓͌̏̑͂̾̆͑̚͠͠͠ḳ̵̮͎̱̈́́ẻ̸̢̧̢̢̢̳͉̤͈̻̗̭̩̮͍̪͉͔̺͙̝͓̠͓́̌̀͌͛̋̌͐͌̊́̽͊͑̽̈̄̒̈́́̐̋̃̂͘͜͠ͅ ̵̢̯̼̣̰̪͙̞̙̖̟̦̱͖̺̥̬̼͕̟̠̪͚͓̠̖́̄̍̓̅͊̑̉̏̍̅͗̓̇̌́̿̃̈͛̑͊̽͌́̂̌̊̋͠͝t̶̨̧̨̨͉̯̰͓͕̪̹̼̻̰͓͚̲̳̟̻̼͚̞̤̲̽͜h̴̡̬̟̞̺̦̻̦͓͖̯̩͔̗͔͕̗̞͔̝͉̙̻͈̲͓̻̎͑͐͋̔̐͌̓̄̐̾̌͘̕͜ͅͅͅẽ̴̡̻̥̰̺̙̖̘̥̑̇͑̈́ͅ ̴͕̠̰̯̫͇̥͖̗̤̝̻͈͖͉͚̗̠͙̱͕̜̼̳̀̇͘̚p̸̡̨̛̖̹̥̫̫͓̩̬͔̯̥̺͍̱͕̠͓͈̩̼͇̺̹̼̞̮̝̝̱͖͙̒͗̏͛̀̓̏̏͆̅̓͌̑̐̾͒̾͋̇̈́̈́͘̚͜͜͠ͅr̴̟̖͕͓̦͓̭̐̌̉̅̒̄̔͆̀̀̒̓̓̍̓̍̃̽̃̋̍̇͛͂͗̌̚̚͝͠e̷̞̫̥̲̠̩̺͕̾̏̃̑̈́̋͌́͑̐̒̽͊͋͐̍͘̕͘͘͝͠ş̴̢̢̛̛̝̮͇͔͕̹͔͖̣͖͉̬̝͔͎͎̳̠͙̻̼̽͊̅̅̌̅͛̇͊̋́͘̕ͅę̴̡̛͉̖̪͔̩̩͓̻̳̼̙͍͕̻͇͇̯̙̳̻͔͚̟̅̎͂̊̋̈́̉̉͌̚͜ͅͅn̸̢̢̢̝̖̜̯̲̪͍̙̘̞̬̻͍̟͓͚̮̯͙͎̗̎͋̔̀̆̾̿̍̇̇̈́̈́̑́̒̂͂͜͜ͅṫ̸̡̛̊̾͊̑͆͊̾͝.̷̡̡̡͈̜̻̤͙̝̲̻̥̰͎̠̰̭̜̫͇͎͙͓̝̠̣̲̹̜̳̂̇̄͛̆̔̅̃̇͠ͅ ̴̧̛̦̣̻̖̪̱͈͕͚̳͉͇͖̟͉̬̩̮̼̳̊̓̑̋̉́̅̃͛́̀͋͐̎̓̑͒̔͌̀̉̿͋̑̂͋̉̀̀̑͘͜͝͝Ţ̵̨̢̞̣̤͔̱̻̟̖̘̼̦͖͓͎̬̝̟̤̺̪͙̼̩̼̥̱̪͉̟͙͑̋̆̀̐͑͑̚͜͜ā̵̧̝̣̤͍͇̳̪̦̗͇̫̼̜̻͍̮̰͖̠̱̣͒́̄͊͒͌̄̿̿̚͘͝͝ͅͅͅk̵̡̢̛̫̮͚̯̙̜̺̮͕̗͇̤͇̙̪̩̪̈́̒̅̾̈́̆͐͐͆̓͜ͅę̴̛̞̤̹̃̓̉͋̔̀̿̑̓̃͒̋͋͒ ̴̡͉̭̤̳̭̬̖̮̠͕̥̲̳͕̘̮̫̺̳̩̱̖̫̲̞͙̗̜̔͆̔͌̓͜͜ͅt̴̨̢̧̢̨̜̩̪̖̝̠͙̫̜̜͔͙̻̳̠̺̜̪̣̖̙̲̖̦̤̫̆̓̂̍̀́͜͜͝ͅḧ̸̡̛̝̫͚͇̺̻͔͉͎́̿̿̾̈͗̎̉̿͐̏̎̐̈͐̉̎̐͑͛̚͝͝͠͝͝ḛ̴̡̟͕͓̗̝̮̜̝̱̜̪͇̫̼̫͓̤̐̆̈́̊̉̂͌͌͆̀̀̍̽̿͗͌̾̈̾̓̉̾̋͂̈́̄͛̉̍͘̚̚͜͜͝͠͝ ̶̨͕̟̺̹̥̫͍̦̥̰̺̞͈̤̤̞̝̗̻̘̳̹͕̹͚̥͒͋͑͌̐́͆͋͛͗̈́̎͐̆̾͗̀̌̆̈́͘̚ͅp̷̧̛̼̺͙̗̗̺̰̖̟̬͙͇̯͉̭̯̗̠͙̫̫͔̠̞͎̩̦̳̫̓̽͋͑̀̊̀̈́͗̄̎͆͐̉͒̇̿͋͌̎̏̇̏̽͆͛̌͌̑̆͛̕̕͘͜͜͝͝ô̸̢̨̨͇̰̩̳̘̤̬̱͖̫̱̻̙̰̳̭̙͋̔̀̌͑͆̐̇̒́̅̄̈̃͑̉͐͑̿͂̆̃̚͜͠͝͝s̸̨̨̛̰͖͎̱͎͔͇̝̣͎̜̦͇͙̹͚͚̯̬͔͎̣͈̝̀̌͛̉̅͂̃̐̎̍̏̅̑̋̐͝͝ͅs̸̛̟̺̳̫͙̟̱͓̹̾̌̌͑̅̏͑̐̉̆͒͒̎͂̅͌̌̏͊͘͘͝͠ì̵̢̨̧̢͍̞͈̹̲̪̘̹͎͚̩̜̙̻̱͔̟̻̘̰̮̝̓̉̇̑͌͗̈̊̄͂̄̐̀͆̄̋̎͑̓͘ḃ̵̢̧̢̨̡͉͖͔͙̭̝͈̬̲̪͚͉̫̾̌̿̊̄̇͊̂̔̔͘͠i̶̢̢̧̢̨̧͇̝͙̤̫͈͓̘̜̫̹̟̗̥͖͙̹͍̱̫̬̯̟̤̦͇̼͐͐̒͐l̸̲̭͖̰̪͚̗̲͕̀̆̉̑̌̂̎̈́͆́̅̈̄̈́̈́̃͊͐͒̄͛̍͐̚̕͝͝i̷̢̛͇͕̼̱̭̜͉͇͎̫̩̋̐̂̀̽̑̾͊̒̍͝͝t̷̡͕͖͉̙͕̻̼͔͈̜̟͈̗̩̝̹̠̻͖̅̋̌̓̿͗̌̽̆͘͜͝ͅÿ̴̛̼́̉̓̀̔̏̌̋̀̂͂̊͂͌͒͑̃͌͂̆́̑̍̂̒̆̐̀̕̚̚͠ ̶̧̳̩̺͕̄̓̄̒̅̒̋͗̿̋̈̽̋̾̍͜͝͠o̴̡̭̺͉͚̬̻͚̱͔͉̰̠͎̪̩͓̭̘̖̾̈́͂́̽̓́͛̈́͂̓͗̉͊̐̇̾͒̀͒́̂̃̔͊̈̔͂̓̇̌̋̑͘͜͠f̶̛͓͇͇̥̠͇̞̞̀͆͆̇̽̾̏̓̋̂͋̇̉̇̈́͌́͌̌͐͜͝ͅ ̸̛͚̱̞̱̺̣̪͎̲̭̲̰̜̤͓̤̻̗͍͇͈̰̫̪̻̝͍̬͉͎͇͚̠͖̄̄̓̇̇͑͛̈̉̾͑̎̽̉͆̇̉̅̄̿̈̓̒͒̚͘̕͜͜f̸͎̮͍͈͓̹̺͖̀̃́̀̓̒̈͂̏̈͘͝u̸̢̡͇̟̹͎̺̺͊̅̃̉̓͗̔̀̊̓̓͆̈́̊̀͋̓̐̍̀͂͐͜͠͝t̷̛̛̫̻̥̘͊͌̌̈́̂̃͆͗͑̓̇̅̀̐͐̈̂͋̎͘̕͘̕̕̚͠͠ų̶̡̢̢̢̛͖̬̹͎͍̝̘̲̹͓͔̙̦̥͕̣̟̜̝̭̲̄̊̋̇̾̄͂̿͌̈́͊́̎͘̚̕͝ͅŗ̷̝̞̜͓̻̼̬̭̦̬̭̿̈́͋́̑͐̄͒͐̈̐̀̿̋̽̍̿͑̎̀͆̍̄̎͋̔̇̎͊̈͘͜͜͝ͅͅȩ̸̧̛̲͔͓̭̖̩̰̝̳̤̤̥͙̗̳̪͕̣̦͇̪͆͂̎̉̈́̈͐̆͒͒̓͛͌̂̿̃̈́̾́́̆͒͗̃̒̚͠͝ ̶̧̛̛̛͇͉͓̬̣͔̞̞̻͎͉̖̖̯͍̹̹͚̜̻̟̞͒͐́̾̍͛̊̈́́̅̋̊͆̊̍͠f̶̨̛̩̌̀̈̏͋̊̎͂͗͐̅̚̚o̷̡̲̬̮̰̗͕͉̰͖̼͚̭̝̳͓͌̆̒̍́̏̏̚͘͘c̷͓̐̈̓̋̅̈́̄̾̀̊̍͘ŭ̷͓̤̼͎̼͒͗̿͒̌͗̅̎̔̊̓͌͂͌́̓̑͑͊́̽̄̆͒̏͘͝͝s̸̛̛̛̯͍̯͓̩̉͊̋͗͝͠ḯ̸̡̨̛͎̦͖̹̱͚̼̖̳͖̺̣̭̺̙͙͙̱͕̦̥̼̟͕͎̲̏̈́̓̇͐́̎̓̃̔̅̆̿̔̎͐͂͒̓̽̓̄̐̾̔̀͒́͒̄̈̿̋̈́͜͝ͅn̷͙̫͖͖̰̟̘͈̱̫̬͚͈͕͉̰̣̗̺͈͓͓̠̫̟̻̤̲͔̭̓͝ͅͅg̵̡̢͓̬̫͔̬̯̺̗̲̩̬̝͚̖̱̖̾̀̄͐̍̄̇́̃̿̅̋̒̀̈̏͒͗͛͘̕͘̚̚ ̷̧̧̡̧̡͍̻̳̮̭͉̖͍̺̺̣̱̙̩̳̰̼͖̘̤̼͓̩̹̳̻̘͇̥͋̓́̓̓ͅt̸͙̜̺̣͕̟͉͎̦͚̰͉͙̗̝̩̓̽̒͗̀́̄̔̋͛͜ǫ̷̢̡̢̢͇̹̞̬̙̮̙͍̱͎͖̹͉͔͔̺͕͇̗̪̘͖͋̌̄̈́͐̊̇̐̐̇̉̄̀͗̀̀̆̂̈́̔̂́̃̊̆̚̕͜͝͝ͅͅơ̴̡̢̜͉̫̹̭̼͍̻̬̥̩̯̰̗̥͈̩̙̺̭̈́̋͜͝ ̴̢̨̧̡͕̱͚̳̗̭̟̣̰̠͕̳̙̭͎̳̹͈͖̳̠̰̦̳̞̜̳̫̘̄̔͜ͅm̶͖͉̖͉͖͇̙̰͎̹̫͉̠͙̞̞̬̪͇͎̯͓̯̫͇̍́̾̄̿́̓̂͋͊̈́͋͘͝͝ͅư̸̧̨̞̹̭̺͚͚͗͒̔̽͊̒̌͒͐́̏̏̏͆͆̂͒͗̆̃́͊͋͐̒c̷̛̛̬͌̉̆̈́̊͊͌̂̑̈́̍̍̊̅̎͊̓̂́̋̈͒̍͘͝ͅh̶̨̧̝͔͎̬̭͈̤͔̪̻͙̘̫͉̜̥̺̺̰̼̗͌͊̅͒̌̈́̄̀̌̈͘͝ ̵̢̡̨̧̤̪͍͔̻̖͇̦̱͖͕̠̯̙͙͓̠̥̯͈̦͓͓͚̳̭̺͕͇̺̫̑̋̍̋̆̓̏̆̀̕̚̕͜͝͠ȍ̴̢̧̩͍̠̠̦̞̭̮͖͓̘͉̝̙̲̳̺͓͎̯̲̰̞͈̤̅̈͌͑͐̍̂̎͋̀̔͠ͅņ̷̨̧̧͓̙̥͈̻͚͚̱͚̯̯͈̱͚͙̺͓͍͈̪̣̤͊́͜͜ͅ ̸̨͖̳̻͆̋̋̑̊͑̌̋̌͗͆͆̅̅͘͝͝ţ̵̗̺̺̮͈̘̲̺̼͖̲͕̲̿̓ḫ̸̡̳̮͚̯̠͓͉̮̪͍̼̦̓̈́̈́̌͗̀̆̀̎͐̒̕͜͝͝è̸̢̻̫͓̯̜̤̺́̀̐̐͂̋̍̆̉͊̒̌̄̈́̇́̑͛̒̐̒̈́̀̀̍̿͗̓͊̏̒̉̉̾͠͠ͅ ̸̧̨̡̢̺͍͔̜̟̯̖͖̻̣̫͎̦̙̼̏̌̓̎̐͐̈́̓̂̄͗̈̆͐̏̕͝p̶̡̢̨̧̥͚͍̰͖͚͖̱̫̭͖͉͇͚̻͈̗̪͙̖̻͙̰͎̥̪̻̜͛͆̌́̍̉̎̃͂̒̆̊̓̐͑͊͌͂̀̐̄͐̋́̉̓͌͋̕͝͝͝͝͝ͅr̴̨̨̢̧̡̡̢̭̙̹̟̺͎͍͖̰͈͍̹͈̮͖̥͔̎̈̒͐͑̄͜ͅͅe̶̢̧̺̯͚͖̙̹̞̻̙̱͉̠̲̲̜̭̼͐̄̈́͘ş̶̡͍͚̦͙̼̦̻̳͍̤̙͐̊̌̆̈́̇͌͊͜ͅę̶̨̛̩̮̫͕̠͍̪̟̭̜͂̿͊͑̀͂̉̂̉͗̋̓̄̂̾̄̊̀͌̈́͌̿͋͌͆̐̚͘̕̚͜͝ͅņ̵̡̧̛̩̟̲̥̦̣̪̰͙̠̖̲͇͙͚̳̫̹̬̘͙͉͒̆̐̈́̈́̉̏̍̾̈̃̑̅͒̇̏̉͂̏̎̂̍͆̏͋́̆̏͌͊̂̓̚͠ͅͅt̴͚͍̳̩͈̟̦̮͙̝͓͈͎̰̮͇̦̜̖̫͎̘̭͎̻̼̱͔̽̉̎͛̓͑͂͌̿́̊̒̌͛̈́̿͛̇̆̂͜͜.̶͍͇̰̼̣͙̪͙͖̦̥͔̰̮̰̲̊̏̓̐͛̃̒͗̄ ̷̢͎̱̜̭̜̠͍͇̟̫̬͎̖͉̙͖̭̟̗̱̫̩̪̂̔͑̿̒͛͊̃̕̚͜͝͝T̵̢̧̛̫͖̺̪̦̳̰̻̫͌͊̔̎̽̈́͊̆̏̅̂̋̃͗͘͠ä̸̢̡̗͎̣̠̲̞̹̹̖̥̣̖̳̪̟̜͔̺̬͔̮̲̼̟̯̺̦̳̺͈̙͙̘̘̓͐̑̑̿͌͊̂̕̚͠ͅk̸̡̛̳̱̖̤̳̩̳̩̟̽͛̇͑͋͒̑͐͆̑̎̈́̌͒̄̄͘͝͠͠͠͠ͅe̷̛͕̪̱̹̙̺͔͒͗͋̓̒͋͊̃͘͜ ̴̢̯̪̝͍͎̠̙̭̼̜̼̗̥̫͈̪̭͒͐̃͆̆̓͌̎͘ͅṭ̸̢͕̙̫̭̖͔̈́̊͛͋͛͗̾͗̕ͅh̵̨̡̨̨̢̢̨͙̬̗̰̺̯͈͖̣̝̞̺͇͉̱̖̦͉͈͈̖͚̰̓̈́͒͋̍͐͗̋̔͊̊͌̐̆̎̅̉̈́̈́͘̕͠e̵̡̛̛͎̭̗̳͓̥͈̙͉̦̪͛̋̆̀̑̾̉̓͂͆̈̋͑̅̃͑̈̓́͛͂̏͒́̀̽̀̉̐͑̂̚͝͠͠ͅ ̷͔̗͚͇͎͖̮͍̟͚̼̜̳̱̖͔̍̅̓̀̊̅̊̏̃̈́̀͝͝͠ͅͅp̶̧̢̛͓̫̘̘͍͎̖̹̘͔̰̱͈̠̳͖̼̦̹͇͇̉̋̈́̓́͐͌́̊̑͑̒̾̈́̐͊̉̽̀͌͊̈́͑̚̚͘̕͘̕ȑ̶̝͂̅̅͌̾̃̾̓͌̽̽́͊͋ớ̶̧̡̢̙̲̬͈̙̞̝̠̯͕͑̈́̿̋́͒̋̾̔̈́̂̉͆̅̆̒́̈̅̇̒̈́̾͆̆̅̅͊͂̽̕̚͠͝͝m̷̧̢̧̛̫̦̲͈̗̼̭̬͉̥̼̠̞̣̹̹̹̜̤̫͚̰̲͕̜͍̫̖͙̑̅̓̅̌͗͆̃͑́̈́̐̀͛͆̿͒͗̍̊͑̅̄̄̈́̏̚̚̚͝͝͠͠ͅį̴̟͇̻̥̜̩͕̦̪͓͗͛̿̊͑̌̊͛͂̅́̉̍̉́̈́͑̄̀́̽͐̌̍̾̓͑̈́̽͂̄ͅͅs̷̨̡̝̲̣̩̙̮̮̣͔̖̹̹͉̯̬̯̤̱͈̫̭̪̪̙͇̣̳̟̟̪̥̰̓̊̑͒̂̎͛͜͝ͅe̴̤̳͎͐̔̐̅̉́̂̀͑̇̇̅̈̌̍̈́̀̄̈̐̊͋͘̚͠͝͝ͅ ̵̡̨̛̛͉̹̭̪̞̪͚̜͇͔̰̠̯͛̓͑̍̍̐̇̌̏̅͂̋́̈́̕͘͝͝f̸̖̭̬̙̩̰̜̪̰̞͇̼͊ͅǫ̵̡̢̧̡̧̤̭͙̦̟͚͈̺̰̻͇̙͙̪̗̯̺̖̲̪̟͚̭̠͓̐͜ͅc̸̨̡̨̛̞̟͔̦̳͙̘̤̳͈̪̮̞̰̼̖̣̠̩̖̖̖͖̭̰͍̮̰̱̟͔͖̈́̋́̓̋͑́̐͆̑͑̋͂̀̍̉́̍̓̄̊͘̕͘͜͝ų̸̧̮̣͙̠̯̬̭̭̱͚̫̘̞̫̰͚̬̜̳̺̮̹̙̺̥̃̀͌͊̄̈́̊͗̐̂̅̋̔̀͋͊̏̽̎̕̕͜͝͝s̸̡̨̢̛͙̱̼̗͓̥̭̼͚͔͈͖̱̬͓̞͍̻͖̙̾̈́͋̋̿͆̐̈͛́̚͝į̷͇͉͉̟̭̺̮͍͓̗̞̖͙̠̗̪̳̦̊͛̌̑͗̒̑̎́̎̅̉̒͋̎̊̓̍̐̊͋̏͒̕͝ñ̶̥̙̦̥͓̍̆̚g̵̡̨̢̯̰͔̬̣̦͈͇̜̪̭̝͕̝̗̯̩͓̬̞͌̆͊̈̀͆̉͋́̈́́̽́͒͂̔̀͂͌͂̈̕̕͝ ̷͎̻͇̄̀̿̋̽̀͗̕t̸̨̳̮̖͉̗̘̝̺̩͐̀̕ͅo̶̧̢̢̨̢̰͕̹̣͎͇͔̦̳̩̝̯̮̺̞̰̼̰͓̹͍̠͐̍̕͜͜o̸̢̰͎̫̩̫͓͉̮̬͈̰̘̤̤͚̥̖̺̰̼̗̱̣͓͚̽̐̓̎̈́̇̓̀̅̅̐̃̓͊͗̔̈̊̃̐͐̅̿̏̀̋̌̐̑̎̕͘͜͠ͅ ̴̨̭̜̭̼̼̣̲͇̟͉͎̙͉͉̲̯̯͕̙̳̟̪̲͚̲͐̌͌́̚͜͜͠m̷̧̡͓̲̼̗̝̝͈͎̝̫̯͚̫̥̻̖͔̲͍̗̺̞̫͖̺̩̞̘̝͙̾̎͐͆͛̓́̈́̒̇̋̒̈̂̈́̀́͋̌͂̎͐͗̂̇̑̈́̋͘͠ͅu̷͚̗͖͚̜̝̥̦̻̻̽͐͋͑̔̉͝c̴̡̧̧̧̟̘̭͎̖̭̳̥̩͎̞̤̝̮̟͙͍̟͛̄̈́̽̈͋̌̓̀̀̾͗̾̓̽̃̈̋̑̉̔̎̊͋̀͂͐͆͒̕̕͘͝͝h̶̡̨͇̳̤̠̥͙͎̭̠͉̱̦̼̠̜̫̻͍̖̳͖̭̤̙̯͇̬̣̐̄̇̂͋̎̄̈́́͜͠ͅͅͅ ̸̜̥͖̩̮̃̾̐̇̋͋̆́̓̈́͛̓̅̍̏̒͑̽̌̅͌̈̾͒̐̂͒̊̚͘̚̕͝o̸̫̥̫̘̦̦̰͇̥̥͕̫̤̫̣͉͇̅̀̀̊̒̂̒͊͗̒͋̉̈́̅̓͗̒̈́͂͋͊̉̅̆̀̇̕͜͠n̷̛̛͙̾̋̐͑̓̆͗̽͆̅̈́̄͛̿ ̵̢̛̬̜̱͕̗̺̫͔͎̲́̈́͛̋̈́̍̽̇͆̓͛̉̊́́̏͂̀̽̎̽͊͒̈́̍̋̚̕͜͝͠͝t̴̛̛̗̳̪̜̜̳͖͈̥͙͚̫̘͎́̒͂͂͌̈́͐͑̔͒̀̌͂̃̌̃̈́́̀͒̊͋́̍̂̊̓͠͠͠͝͠ḩ̸̼͚̦̟͇͖̣̻̬̽̿́̓̽͗͛̄̍͒̃̀͘̕͠è̵̬̺̺̪͙̈͛̆̈́̀̽͌͆̓̉̚͝ ̸̻̰͔̝̩̱̫̰̤͕̫̗̪͚͎͉̩̪̙̻̱̍̓̓͂̋͐͛̚̕͜͜͝p̷̧̡͎̥̭̝̬̠̳̤̻̥̦̜̝̮͉̺͙̳̼̮͓̳͒̑̈́́͋̈́̈́͐̊̊͑̍̌̓̊̓̄̅̾̾̿̾̐͒̓͂̈́̾̿͒̕͘̕͜͝͝r̴̛̗̳̰̭̪̣̞͖̍͂͋̓͂̏̑̔͋̆̄̄͂̒̓͋̕͘̕͠͝ȩ̶̡̨͉͓̟̠͎̦͙̱̼͕̘͙͙̪̼̬̰͕̥̱͍͙̪̙̞̘̝̘̂̐̾͂̈́͛͗̈́́̇̀̓̇́̒̅̕͜͝͠s̶̢̡̗͓̯̖͎͖̫͕̳̻̲̩̞͙̳̪̪̱̗̠̟͔͍̟̘̀̊̀̀͗͂̓̏̔͜ͅḙ̵̢̡̛̖̣̪̗̰͓̤̫͓͍͉̤̘̺̘̻͎̠̲̺̘̯͂̋̊́̓̓͂̍̇̆̊̀̀͐̅͊͊̏̔͗̅̿̋͒̈́̎̓̈́̈̕͠͠͠ͅͅņ̸̡͔̰̟̭̩̝̫͔͚͚̝͇͇̹͈̖̹̣̠͚̥̙̩̯̺̈̄̏̓̔̄̂͋̈́̊̾̇̈́͆̃̇͂͂͊̚͠ţ̷̛͔̠͍̿̊͌́́͂́́̓͘̕͝.̷̨̓̈́̓͋͊̄̓̇̇̃̎͑̔̄̔͋́͋̒̅̀̽̕͠͝͠͝͝͝͠ ̷̨̧̨̨̡̨̛̪͓̝͔͔̭͉̪̺̪̯͎̂̓͂̔͆͑̈͒͊͋͒̈́̃̔̈́̏̂͒̌͂̐͆̋͂͘͝ͅͅT̷̢̮͍͈͖̮̺̘͇̻͈̮̊͐̀̀̿̚ą̷̨̧̛̳͍̝̯̙̝̼̞̠̝̻̻̰̲̤̠̝͖͍̹͕̠̞͇͂̔̃̇͋̀͋͑̇̎̉̇̔̇̈́͆́͊͊̒̈́͆̿́̈́̐͘̕̚͘̚͝͠͝ḳ̸̼͖̯̮̘͚̮͍̜̣̞͉͇̬̩̗͍̰͍̞̟̜̤̜̫̱̤̙̩̳̯̥̘͍̟͙̉̈́̃̊͋͐͗̓̎̄͗̈̎͊̓́͌̑̓̔̔̈̑̂͆̿͋̐̍͘̚̕͠͠e̷̠͚̝̟̪̘͈̗̱͎̞͉͇̝̦͈̱͚̟͔̭̪̜̞̜̣͙̘̝̞̟͊́̍́̓̇̀̆̔̄̚͜ ̶̢̨̣͇͉̳̞̜̜̦̫̩̺̱̱̠̺̮̝̤̝͍͉͖̗̮͕͚͙̫͂̌̊̓͋͆̊́̉̈́̔̑̽̓̑͋͛̔̓̈́̅̌̈̍͂̅̓̚͜͝͝͠͝͠͠ͅͅt̸̞̪̗͔͑̆̅̇̀̋̒̇͌̅͆ͅͅḣ̴̛̛͙̮̺̩̦̤̣͖̤͚͚̲̰̮̬͕͕̩͍͕͎̖̠͙̹͗̿̃͌͛̔͗̈́̾͋́̎̐̀̇̀̆̉́̏̀̾̑̕̚͘͝͝͝͠ͅę̴̛̛̫̭͕̤̹̞̎̓̃̈̑͌͗̈́̈̌̌̐̈́́̔͂̿͑͌̆͒̐̀̀͊̕̕͝͝ ̷̨̢̧̲̩͚̺̘̺̬͖͉̣̪̻̰͎̖̒͛̄͛̿̕͜p̶̢̰̣̳̊̂̎͐͐͒̎͜ǫ̷̼̲̬͚̬͈̩̼̮̠̼̪͍̞͉̹̯̬̳̹͙́́̀̄̿̿̈́͠s̸̼̖̮̪͙̻̠̝͍͔̰͑̊̾s̶̮͈͕̳̫͉̰̘̳̹̦͋̅̒̈́̃̐͋͋̌̈́̾̐̅͋̐͑̓͐̀̓̀̎͆̊̋̚͘̚͘͝į̵̛͇̹͓̰̟̱͇͔͇̥̥̋̈͒͊͊͌́͗̆̈́͊͌̃̂̌͒́̈́̈́͗̾͗̑̋́͑̇̾̚͘͝b̴̢̞̰̳͙̖͕̞͙͈͍̭͇͈͚̥̲͉̩̖̂̉͐̋̉̓̆̾̅͊̇̏͐̊͘i̷̢̨̟̖̘̜̺̝̫̮̜̖̗̟̥̫̥̟̾̃̅͂̃̓͑̃̋̃̏̕͝l̸̪̬̗̃̃̌̄̓̃͆́́̾͊͘į̷̨̡̞̬̰̯̫͚͔͈͎̯̱̮͈͇͈̙͖̥̺̺̖̟̝̟̤̱̩͖̭̼͈̘̄̀̐̀̀̈́̄̒͋̎͑͆̈́̈̕͜͜͝͝͝t̵̡̬̳̩͙̙̥̙̼̝̮͙̻̺̠̣̳̀̓̄̃͆̒̿̎͑̈̀̐̓̓̾͂͆́̑̎̈́͌̉͒̿̏̂̌̌͒͒̔͋̕̕̚͠ͅy̴̛͈͖̫͔͖̻̱̦̣̪̌̈́̓̍̓̓̓̓̅͆̆́̔͂̓̂̑͌͒̈́̏̈́̔̓̈́̚̚̚͠ͅͅ ̵̟̇̉͊̓̏̈́̈́̊̿̎͌̇͂̃̆̈́͒̒̈́́̈́̑̀̇̒̅́̎̚̚̚͠͠͠͝͝ó̷̲̲̤̬̮̪̪̝̪f̷̨̧̡̨̬̝̫̱̬͍̣̺͔̜̝̹̻̹̺̳̙̞̦̱̗̮̼̱̬̭̭͈̘̽͒ͅͅ ̶̙͎̳̰̱̙͚̯̹͖͕͓̪̩̹̭͖̗͚̰̻̙͖̥̗̟͎̀̽͆̿̈́̅̓̽͑̀̍͌̆͆̋͒́̓̐̔̈́̓̅̌̒͌̚̚̚͜͠͠͠͠͠͝͝ͅf̶̢̨̨̡̧̛̛̛̖̦̼͖̣̭̱͖͔̼̼̳̞̬̣̦̥̬͍͓̭̩̘̩̲̥͓̥̬͕̿͆͗̐̉̃́͊̊̎̏̈͊̋̊̈́̒́͑̋̆́̚̚̚͜͝͝ū̸̡͚̙͆͊̈́̀̀̎̋͐̾̾͊́̾͌̒̎̍̃̆̒͌̽̈́̓́͗̃̉̓̈́͘͠͝t̵̘̖̠̟̖̫͉̫̯̒̈͑̈́͌͌̀̒̔̀̌̓̇̈́̓̎͒̀̑̇͆͊̈̂̀̀́͑͘̚̕͜͠͠͝ǘ̷̡̼͚̰̘̥̰̯̥͍̟͇͚̳̝͓̟̻̲͎̰̬̂̊̆̑̆̈́̈̈́̔̆̒̄͂̾̅͂̽͐͆̅̚̕͜͝ͅŕ̵̛̖̈͂́̋͑͌̑̓͌̃̋͂̀̇̌̓̓̓̂̀̕͘̕̚͝ͅę̸̡̢̱̘̘̖̭͔͇̼̭̠̥̫͉̥̥̪͍̗͖̘̮̯̝͙̣̟̬̯̽̃̀̅̓̾̚͜.̷̹̲͕̙̞̦̭̥͔̏͒̊̇̈́̆̀̄̕͝͝ ̵̯͎̲̠̜̲̈̀̇̀͐̈́̌͘͜͝ͅY̵̛̻̰͍̝̻̟̘͋̋́̂͗͆̿̆͛̉̈̒̾̒͂͊͗͘͜͝͝ǫ̶̨̡͔̟̝̗͔͓̺̬̞͔̜͍͔̺͓͍̪͛̓̏̔̈́̉͛̓̍͂͌͊̃͜͠ͅͅư̶̬̝̻͇̬̪̤̰̘̘̼̣̅̀̋͛̓́̈̋͑͑̊͛̓̓͋͛̈́̈̚̚͜͝ ̶̛̟̙̗̪̭̜͍̱̠͌͐̎͑̀̈́͂͂͊͋̆̈́̎̾̄͌͒̊͐̏̓̅̚͘̚͜͝͠͝͠a̴̢̡̨͎̱͍̼̜̻̼̝̥̱̹̥̥̤͕͉͌̂́̒͒̊̒̎̿̄̆̆͆͝͝͝ŗ̶̡͔̘̬͔̲̹̳̼͙̟̗̭̭͙͙͔̦̯̫̄͐͊̔̿̀͊̀͌e̸̼͉̠̘̞̬̯̍́̇̋̍̎͒̐͒̔̍̕͝ ̷̡̨͈͈̗̲̤̩̲̣̟͓̮̲̈́͆̑͋͒̓̓͋̄̅̀̑͊̋̈́̒̊͘͜͜ͅf̶̨̢͖͙͈͙̯̼͔̯̻̮̘̜̫̙̣̘͍̖̩͈̪̟͉̬̪͚̟͖͙̗̥̈́̆̓̈́͊̏̀̈́͋̄̀̋͆̿́͗̽̅̍̓͒̒͊̕͘͜͜͝͝ͅͅớ̶̮̪͚̟̎͂͛̊̂̓̇̐̃̉̅̇̓̿̀̈͂̑͠͠r̶̢̨͉̺̦̼̣̬̤̙̣̰͖̥͈̟̯̭̍̒̎̽̓̋̅̓ ̷̡̨̨̡̮̠͖͓̫͉͈̘̜̜̞̻̣̻̣͔͎̩̮̠̳͎̘̙͚̬͔̹͕̅̾̎̃́͑͐̆͑́̋̈́́̓̏̇̉̎̔͋́̀̾̇̇̍̑͌̐̀̾͜͠͝a̷̛̛̭̰̦͙̤̥̮̐͌́̏̏̋͂̈͊̿͗͑̏̄̈̇͂̉̍̉͌̃͂͌̎̽̚̕̕͘͘͘̚͝͝ ̵̧̡̬̘̲̼̘̠͕̹̻̗̯̳̩̱̪̙͆̄̍̀́̾̍̂͒͑̇̉̂̉͊̈̐͆͊̑̌͋̊͆͐͂̀̕͘̚͝͝͠ͅͅͅṗ̶̨͙̬̕͠͝r̴̡̨̟̙̪̫̲͎̝̜̻̥̹̗̠̝̺̮͓̩̰͛̃̃̏̈́͐̉͛̔͘͠ơ̸͎̖͙͓͈̣͕̹͕̻̗̼͒̈́̔̃̈́̉͐̄̀͊̐̈́̎̃̎͗̎͝m̴͚͚̩̓̒͑̐̎̒̊͛̑́́͐͒̍͑̇̇͘͝͝ ̸̨̖͙͇̯̣͚̰̠̻͎̦̱̲̩̼͙̞̬̤̭̬͔̖͉͚̩̪͍̝̦̈́̈́̐̓̿͐̂͗̇̇̒͗̾̓͒̐͋̒̎̓̅̓̏̉̈̈̍͝͝͝͝͠͝͠h̵̨̧̛̹͎̪̦͖͚͕̘̱̪͎̙̜͉̯̻̯͈̰͕͓̘͎̣̙̆͂̋̾͋͐̈́̀͐͂͒̄ͅe̸̝̣̪͕̰̬͊̅̑̀̓̈͜r̶̡̡̢̡̢̙͈̘̹͈̠̞̻͍̥̪̟̘̫̜͍̖̦̤̟̤̺͉͖̯̣̜̔̇̒͆̊͊͆̉͋͌́̀̈̏̓̅͗̽̋̀̀͑̔̈́̓͛͝͝͠.̵̡̨̞̜̦̳͇̘̖̻̝͙̳͚͓͓̜̩͊̚͝ͅͅ"̵͉̪͓͚̜̗̣̜͉̪̩͓̌̾̇̃̒̾̍̍̋̔́̓̇̃͆̏̽̏̄͗̆̍͌͑͘͝͠ ̸͈̖̦͍̣̽̈́̓͒́́̅̎̀̃̒̆͑̃̈́̏͊̅̂̀̅̽̓́̓̔̎̚͜͝͠͝͝"̶̨̨͉͚̲̭͇̱͕̩͓̻̞͎̥̝͎̯̺̠̤̥̲̞͓̺̘̺̹͕͚̗͕̪͔́͆̒͑͊̉̈͒͆̇͆̍̈̃̔͋̓̎̿͘͝ͅͅH̴̡̧̛̱̦̺̮͖͔͕͇̱͈͔̥̪̯͚͍̣̰̝̉̏̽̒̔̇̑̇͊̉̌̇͆̈́̓͒̆̓̓̏̀̀͂͂̌̄͌̌̌͑͊͘͝͝ͅơ̴̢̘͇̼̙͇̳̼̩͎̍͂̿͒̈̀̃̆͋̋͛͋̎̒͋̾͊̾̿̔̔̀̆͊͂̕͝͠͠͝p̴͎̯̝̫̱̊̀͌͋̚͘͝ȩ̴̧̡̢̹̝̺̝̟̤̜͕̦̱͓̮̤̲̞̹͚̯̰̥̖̘͎̈́ ̷̨̛͚̩͍͍́́̔́̈́͌̃͊̐̽̏̆͒̃̋̓̇̓͝i̷̡̛̙͔̯̻͉̬̠͓̠̦̱̎͗͆̏̍͆̐͒̋̓̓̉̇̈́̽̒̀̍̍̕͘͘͘ş̵̛͙͇̣̝̺̭͈̠͚̼̻̙̫̗̰̖͎͑͛͛͌̔͐͒́̇̄̌͑̈́̒̈̉͆̐̔͊̂̎̓̀̈́̈́̄̑͒͂͂͘͜ ̴̧̤̪̮̰̣͇̪͕͙̝̻̝̥̩̗͚̭͓̓͒̅̈́̌̿͆̽̈̊̕͝͠a̴̧̛̹͉͓̳̻̜̗̖̞̝̯͐̍̾̔̄͆̀̄̓̎̑̓͐̏̅̕̕̚͠ ̷̨̢̡̢̢̢̨̯̠͚̩̤͎͓̣̰̙̫̠̰͚̠̙̗͉̼͖̜̬̻̞̖̦̙͇̭̳̒̽̍͒̉͛̂̓̚b̸̡̨̳̘͕͈̪͔̺̦̟͌̿̄͂͌̉̂͆̃̀̈́͆͘͘ȅ̴͎̖̠̱͙͔̘̮͉̾̑͋̋̈́̅̆̈́̽̿͛̊̂̿̃̈̃͒͜͠͠͝͠ţ̷̯̲͎̲̼̣̯̱͇̭͙̜̯̰͛́̓̀̄̈͐͋́͂̿̀̾̈̓̔̏̉͛́̈̈́̄͘ṯ̷̛͚͍̪̊̈́̍̈̈́̇̋̉̈́̇̔̕͘͝e̷͉̭̥̘̖̅̌̀̈̎̍̚ͅŗ̷̡̧̢̬̗͍͎̞͔̖̪͎̬͙̹̭̺̜̉̽̃͂̄̓͂͆̀̊̐̔̃̆̈͂̀̿̆̾̊̓̋̂̽̐̆̀̚̚͠͝ ̶̧̧̨͔̖̫̝͖͚̲̜̪̩̟̘̖̙̺̇̈́͆̆̿̀̆̈́̍̀̍̂͋̿̀̇̐̏̇́̀̑͂ͅͅf̵̧͎̯̤̺̗̰̫̲̝͙̺̘̗̙̦̯͕͔͊̃̋̆́̋̎͊͛̐̈̐̀̑̌̉̈́̏͊̄̎́̒͠͠͝ͅṷ̴̢̣̤͓͍̤̣̀͗̒͌̚ţ̴̛̛͍̮̤̜͚̮̪̣̯̩͓͚̖̣̞̹͍̄̍̂̄͆͋̍̓̏͛̒͊͆͠͝ͅử̴͉̌̏̆̎̾̂̿͌͘͠r̵̨̢̨̪̲̠̲̤͔̫̦̬̺̘̤̩̝̲̗͔̝͚̼̩̭̺̱͎͙͖̜̱̘̪͐̎͑ͅę̷̱̠̘̬͙̩͈̲̭͓͉̗̞͇̟̰̦̱͔̩̟͎͓͕̩̜͓̬͖͑͆͂̔́͒́̿̃́̉̕̚.̵̖̹̿̓̈́̈͌̒͝ ̴̨̠͈̱̔͊͌̋̀Y̵̢̢̧̗̲̼͔̜̙̻̗̙̻͖̲͙̠̤͈̟̖̻͙̳̟̜̖̹̣͋̽͒͑̇̍̈́͂̽̌̃͐̍̏̈́̀̉͐̾͛̑̚̕͜͝͠ơ̸̢͍̺̮̜̳͓̤̖̖͈̫̰̲̮̣̮̲̦̗̣̫͉̯̙̖̣̳͔͚̙̳̗̞͛̀̅̽͋̀̓̏̾̈̈́̃̾͒̌̋͊̀̃̊̐͗̆̓́́͘̚͜͝͝ừ̷̢̡̩͙̭̬̞̘͖̹̹͖̱̪̜̬̼̲͉̤̖͚̑͗͌̃͐̈́̒̾̿̾͌̈́̐̐͌̽͂̈͗̈́̓̃̌̃̕̕̚͝͠͠ ̴̧̧̠̻̞̫̠̯̯̰̭̘͚̤̮̟͖̫͍̭͔̟̃͒ͅa̶̖̣͈̥̰̗̣͚̟͈͚̽̾̐̀̊̈́̕ŗ̸̧͍͍̥̖̮̣̃͊ę̵̢̢̡̧̡̨̢͚̣͕̗͈̪͓̣͍̻̻͈̼̖̳̗͇͕͈̭̠̦̥̤̱̈́͑ͅ ̷̧̢̬͉̱͙̤̖̼̭̤̳͖͕̳̠͇̗̬͖̫̟̫͍͚̬͇̤̟̩̮̌̅̉́̓̾̚̚͘͜͜͝͠j̴̡̛͕͍̠̰͔̋͒̀̋͗̅̿̾̌̈́̍̒̀͋͑̀̍͗̓̑̌͆̽̈́̏̂͊̓̕͘̕͝o̵̧̨̬̲̱̬̳͚̬̲̻̹͕̱̲͒̀͋̉̐̄̓̊̅̓̀̍̍͠ͅͅͅy̶̧̥͎̙̮̣̹̘͂̄́͛́͜ͅ ̴̨̛̤̟̮̝͓̯͎̞̽̅͌̓̔̿̊͒̀̈́̇̍͆͜͠͝͠͝ą̶͍̲̥̙̝̦̘̜͈̙͖̯̻̠̙̘̬̯͎͖̖̤̫̘͓̤͎̠̰̮̳̔͋̑̏̊͝ͅͅw̵̡̠̙̯̻̞̼̟̗̟͉͈̘̭̱̱͊̔͋́̿̏͑̐͋͛͌́͐̃̓́̃͌̌͐̅̽̈́̿̓͂̽̔͘̚͘͜͝͝͝ą̶̡̧̢͈̙̯̝̗͇̝̰̱̲͚̮͖̘̥̼͓͕͈̼̬̥̭̈́̇͑̊̀͂͋̽̓͆͜͜͜ͅͅȳ̴̡̞̙̼̳̳̭̫̭͙̪̮̰̰̤͖̲̘̉̍́̊̍́͋̎̀͒̅̍͐̎̀̔̕͜ ̷̥̜̀͛̀f̷̥̹̩͚̭̟̫̝͕̝̦͍̭͈͖͕̭͖̘̝͖̤̲͎̰͓͕̪̠̻̥͙̖̎͛͑̈́̍̍́̂ͅr̶̰̮̞͎͔̞̮̣͎̼̩͍̘͖̖͒͊͑̑́̅̄͊͑͗̃̊̍̈́͐̆͌͗̍̏͒̂͑̏̈́̿́͛̇͘͝͝͝͠o̸͖͉̠̲̘͓͓̞̜̞̳͈̮͌̃̏̓̀̆͂̇̐̓͜m̶̡̡̨̡̤͙̥̘͕̠̜̥̖͖̫̭̯̝̖͖̭̣̰͕͖̻̈́̈́̋͐̈́̍͌̀̌̏̈́ ̶͔̥͉̠͈̩̬̫̻̝̄͑̃͌̆ḩ̷̖̩̭͍͔̞̼̬̲̤̇̉͒̀̀͗͒̊̾̑̿̈́̑̇̋̽̓̅̍̂̉̕̕̚ͅe̶̥̠̎̾̾̇͊̽͋̽̈́͘ŗ̷̨̭̤͈̠͚̻͈͔̺̼̫͕̬͆̊̀̐̇̈́̄̒̾͒̍̎͊̔̿̽͗̆́̌̈́̈́̏̔͊͐́͘͝.̵̧͓̹̫̬͖͙͓͚̳̰̳̬͚̿́̑̽̓̽̃̆͂̈́̈́̀̇̉̈́̈́͛͆̊̍̓̄͗̾̐̈͒̊̾̾̒͘͠ͅͅ"̸̧̮͚̞̠̻͇̘̺̳̮͈̣͓̲͎͐̈́̈́ͅ ̵̡̧̛͍̠̺̦̠̒͆̃́̎̒̇̉̐̈̃̌̓͊̐̓̅͘͘̕͝"̶̮̥͈̦̀̈́̎̋̕̚͠H̶̫͎̦̟̲̱͈͇̘̬̎̒̒̿̒̐̈́̍̈̓́̍̑̊̎̄̓͗̐̏̊͂̚͝ö̶̧̜̖̬̞̪͖͈̠̳̞̠́̂̀̒̒̀͌̏̎͂̿̂̈́͌̓̃̐̈̈́͜͝p̶̢̗̱̯̟̤͓̪̮̙̦̙͍͖̠͎̭͉̠̑̉͋͒̉̒̌͝͠ͅè̶̛̛͎͎̙̮̰̦̟͈̖̤̹̰̜̤͈̮̬͇͈̖̫͉͍͑̌̾̍͗̈́͗̃̀̓̑̓͋̃̔̇̈̽̈́͂͆͆͑͒̌̏̒̆͘͘͝͠͠ ̸̰̝̭͎̟̜͓̈́̆̾̅͊́̇̃̕͜ĩ̸̡̧̨̡̛̛̠̞̻̝̙̗͙̠͖͖̘̪͎̻͎̤͕̼̥̼͕̫̤͎͎̦͓̎̌̂͌̄̀̉́̀̿͛̅̏͒̀́̒̇̎̑͂̈́̈́̀̑̏̈̕͜͝͝ͅs̵̢̢̢̙̱͙̻̹̲͖̘̘̩̦͓̯͇̖̬̰̪̰̾͆̽̄̍͑̔̒̀̔͌͗̐͋̋̆̂͂̚͜ͅ ̶̡̛̛̤͓͍̹̖͑́̈́̈́́̌̈́̈́̅̂͆̅͒̈́̎̌̎͂͑̃̈́̓͋͋̈̀̅̋̉̇͗̃̈̚ą̴̨̢̡̛̛̺̹͕͔͎̗̮̬̟̞̝̥͓͚̼̪͚̭͙̙̬͐̓̀̓͊͗̎͂̅̓̓̾̿́̈́̓̃̀̈́̈́̇͊̇͛͌͛̂͘ ̵̡̧̧͕͉̪̳̹̖̭̻̮̺̼̖̻̯̻̘͎͔͖̬̫͙̝̖̞̤̼̮͙̑̽̏̇̈́̎͜͜͜͝ͅp̶̢̧̛̗̪̙̹̤̺͓̜̲̣̻̞̗̙̠̯͔̩͍͔͈̠͎̬̟̈́́́̿̔̑͐̈́̄͊̀̓̉̂̽͗͌̈́͑̈́̃͂̀͒̒̇̚͜͝͠ͅr̷̨̛̜͕̜̼̟͍̦͉͉̰͇̜̗̤͇̓̐̅̄̏̕ḙ̴̩̿̍͂̾̂̿̃͋͆̚͘ś̴̻̞͉̣̰̭̘̞̟̬̘̘͕̘̩̥̣̈́̓͛̑̋͠e̸̦̞̲͎̣̲̻̥͎̪͕̱̰̝͌̋͒̆͆̋̓͌̿̔̈́̏́̈́́̀̽͆͂̔̿̑͑̄͋̐̊̈̐̀͘̚͠͝͝͠͝ń̵̮̠̂͌̓̍̂̿͋͌͂̃̑t̷̨̧̛̲͙̝̝͓̞̩̖͕̯̬̹͍͔͎̙̦͇͓̺̉̿̾̌̈́̿̌͑̀͋͗͆͊̓̋̏̈̌̈͛͋͐̈̓͘̕͠.̵̢̡͎͙̺̠̳̫̝͚̫̈́̂̓̕͜ͅ ̵̧̢̬͖͇̝͕̲̦̲͎͕͎̜̭̖͉̰͆̀̈́͐̽̎̿̅̽̃̈́̅͐̇͆̒̆̔̏̈́̈́̕͘̕̕̕͘͜͠T̸̯̤̰̥̜̳̟̫̯̠̲̬̻̼̈́͑̃̃̌͌́͐̾a̴̢̰̥̬̠͈̗̱̙̓̈́͂̒̊̀͗͒̅͑͊͋́̋̏͑͒̽́̾̀̌͝͠ͅk̷̨̨̛̛̞̪̗̘͔̦͇͓͔͉̫̞̗͓̰̪̥̝͇̂̓̉̿͌́̅̈́̐̈́̇̐͌̐̆̃̉̊͊̈́̈̉̔͊̈́̓̈̈́̚͜͝ẽ̷̢̢̢̯̬̺̙̗̮͉͖͈̱̹̺̮̺͖̘̭̜͔͉̱̤̼̭̹̫͎͔͐́̔̇̅́͂͛̅̂́̆̌͛̈́̾̊̆̕͘͠͝͠ͅͅ ̴̢̡̝͇̳̞̝͇̩̖͚̞͎̖̲̲͌̐͒̒́͑̇͂̓̑̈́̍̚͜͜ţ̵̩̼̝͈̞͇̘̣̼̬͎̫̙̠̰̼͉̞̰̥͚̤͐̓̄́̐̍̿̓̀̓͒͑͊̉̈́̄̈́̌͊͂̂͋͋̇͛̌̀͒̇͑̄̑́̀͘͠ḧ̵͎̟̰͕̥̱͚̜̳̝̘̪̖́̒̑̄̓̍̎͛͐̍̕͝͝͠ͅê̷͓͉̘̪͂͐͂̎̒ ̷̨̙͇̱̮̆̈́̈͑͑̆͊͝ͅp̴̧̨̨̧̲̬̹̝̤̦̜͉̲̼͙͎̥̥̙̻̣͓̜̠͕͔͔̟͗́̂̎̾́̊͑̈́̇̀̓̔̽̈́̽͑͛́̂̈́̌̊̍̈́͘̚͘̕̚͜͝͝ǫ̵̨̟̗̝͕̤̮̬͈̬͖͖͉̠̬͙̙̜̼̖̗͎͙̥͙̳͇͎̗͓͇͚̦͖̑̽̈́̈̎͑̇̃͐̂́̅͊̈̾̀͐̈͛͛͒̓͌̌͑͗̓̀̐́͋̕͜͝͠ͅs̷̳̳̔͐͑̉̍̽̓̌͗̌́́̑́̒̂̽̋́̌̀̾͛͘̕͝͝͝͝s̶̛̘̫̹̆̾͑̐̎̾̿̑͌͋͗͠į̶̧̛͙͉͙̥̗̘̝̲̪̗̺̖̫̞̹̩̠͍͈͖̠͐͊̽̔́͂̀̈̀̎͛͋̂̀̽̽̀̾͐̓́̽͂̚̕͝͝͠b̴̨̛͖͙͇̭̜̘͙̘̥̱̹̗̼̯͍̳̳̙̔̿͆͑̈̏͊͌͆͊̋͌̀̍̌͗̀͂̚͜͠i̵̡̢̡̨̺͓͚̖̳͙̱̫̩̠̭͎͇̠̘̙͎͔̘̖͋͌͋͛̀̒̓̅̍̾̓́̌͑̃͌̉͛l̷̡̨̛̼̳̻̱̩̩͕͛̇͌̆̒̀̀̓̈́̀́̃̂̾̅̂̑͆̾̓̋̐͋͊̈́͘̕̕͝͝͠i̷̹͖̝̙͈̟͇̫̜̦̰͂͗̓̉̀́̏̾̉̑̍̀̿͆̀̀͆̈́̍̌̍̈́̈́̇̈́̈́͒̂̿͑̚̚̕͝t̸̡̢̛̪̬̩̰͓̖̹͙̝͈̞̼̄͗̈́͌̇̌̂̎̾̓̌̑̎͑̊͆͊̉̔̔̾͌̈́̾͐͒̉̚̕͜͝y̵̨̛̬͓͕̖̼̱͍̣͉͈͙̪̲̲̋̽͌͌̍͒͑͑́̃́̉̂̏̋͗͗͐̆͂̕̕̕̚͝͠͝͝ͅ ̶̡̧̧̭͇̥͇̰͇͍̮̬͈͓̖͙̫̤̮̦̪̑̿̔̓͠ͅͅơ̴̧̢̨̨̡̢͖̳̤̯̤̠̗̬͔͉͙̗̹͚̞̥̦͎̲͍̰̦̭̦̪̤̪̜̜̳̈́̏̈́͊̾͋̊͆̓̉̎̿͑͆̄͊̿̌̃̓͌̓̈̌̇͋͂͘̚̚͘͠͝f̴̧̫̮̻̣͕̹̘̭̘̔̐͐̐͗͆̏͛͂͒̾̍̚̚͜͝ ̴̨̧̣̱̗͕̗̲̠̲̼̟̬͎̊͊̓͊̿̊̈́̈́͆͋̍͗͗̌̾͐̉̉͆͗͑́͘̚̕̚͘̚͘̚͝ͅf̶̧̡̧̧̛̟͙̟̗̪͔͙̙̻͚͍̺̱̻̱͍͙̖̱̩̑͆̆̈́̀̏̽̀̄̋͝ų̴̡̱̬̤̺̪̗͔͓̩͚̰̱̭̼͇͉̘͙̖̹̤̰̎͐͆͛͊͊̆͜t̷̨̨̤͉̱̹̙̙̦͕̖͈̟̮͎͚͍̬͓̥̐̇́͌̽̈́̄̒̇̚ų̷̡̛̗̤͈̳̱̟̯̦͌̅̾̈́̍͊͂̓̒͊̅̎͘̚͘͜͜͜͜͠͝ͅṛ̷̲̼̹̯̅́̅̄̋̒͑̊̊͋̕͠e̶̢̨̨̨̡̛̬͙̯̩̞͔̹̦̞̺̫̗̭̥̪̞͖̖̲͙̼͕͇͕̭̖̤̦͓͆̊̿̑̽̂͐͗̍̿͒̈͒̑̓̈́̑̔͒̒́̉̕͘̕͜͝ͅͅ ̵̢̛̠̤͓̞͚͉̫̺̥̠̟̅͆̊̔̋͐̀̆́̓̂̈́̀̏̿̽́̈̆͂̌̎̿̍̽̒̏̈́̐́̾̚̚j̷̧̡̠̫͚̟̭̝̮̜͎͕̹̙̼̖̫̭͚͂̐̾͛̂̿́̀͝ơ̶̧̟̦͙͇̱̥̱̞̤̦̜̣͙̘̼̰̍̔̅̂̆͗̀̈́͋̓͐̒̏̆͂͊̈̋̿͂͐̃̆͑̈́̈́̇͋͆͘͜͠͠y̴̢̥͍͕̬̜̣͎͕̱̳̤͖̫͚͍̙̗̏̉́͑̌̐͐̏̑̋ ̴̨̨̖̼͕̦̳͎̙̠̼̘̀̍͗̉͗̋́̅́̅̈̽̂͌̉̓̈́̏̊̏̋͂̕̚͘͝͝ą̵̮̝̮̺̠̦̜͉̗͉̼̽͑͗̈́́͆̑́͒͘̕w̸̢̧̛̝̝̣̥͈̣̺̬̣̬̺̩̺͔̥̹̬̬̝̪̩̥̣͎̱͎̅͆̒͒̽́̀̋͋̿̑̽͋̍̅̂͊̂̈̈́̈́̒̐̾͘͜à̷̢͈͓͓̹̦̺̳̺̒͊̌̆̑̀͑̎͆̇͜ͅy̵̢̛̛͙̬̥̙̝͓͚̣̻̮̦̰͈̘̱̹̲̱̲̪͉̼̠͎̪̗̩̰̖͊̋̈́́̈́̈́̂̂̓͐͆̎́͒̚͝͝ ̴̛̦̯̳̯̬̙̝̯̫̼͖̫͎͙̤̖̰̥̔̎͒͛̅͌̎͆̌͋̂͛̈́̉͌̀̾̒͒̅̄͘̚̚̚͝͝͝͝ͅf̷̨̢̰̲̱͓͚̭̠̗͚͌͂́͒̈́̔̕r̷̛͈̪̤̟̣̳̣͛̈̍̌̏̊̓͆̿̈̉̈́͗̈́͗̔̅̉̊̅͗͛̍̔̂͋̚͘ō̸̢̨̨̢̡̥̜̟͓̞͕̜͚̬̻͓̥̲̦̙̣̭̑̄́̏̎̀̑̓̋͆͑̔͌͛̍͋̔͂̐͋̾́͐̿̀̓̅̂́̈́͝͝͝͠ͅm̵̛̝̝̼̦̪̭̝̯̼̞̤͈̪̪̦̪̬̰̯̓̿͆̊̋͊͛̈́̋̃̾̔͋̓̌͌̒̂́̿̉̉͌̊͌͂̏͋͛̂͂͘̚͘͘͜ͅ ̵̧̢̛͙͉̤̠̎̈́̍́̾̋͋͆͂͂͝͠ḩ̷̧̞̣͈̘̥̦̥̯̣͍̪͍̙̱͖̗̱̻̳̱͇̹̬̹̈́̌̍̊̏̑̓͌̀͛̉̽̓̈́͒͂͗͜͠͝͝͠ͅͅé̶̢͈̙̳̪̗͍̗̮͒̉͂̈́̆̓͐̇̈́̕͘̕ͅr̷̡̡̫̼͓͖̝͍͓̝̫̹͍̼̞̪͍̥̤̦͎̖͂͂̃̾̅́͛͗̒̅̿͌̌̉͑̈́̏̆̒̆̃́̇͒͋̃͐̎̑͗̌̕͘̚͝͠͠ͅ.̸̡̧̨̦͎̜͈͚͓̳̰͚̪͇̬̗͚̫͔͉̮͍̱̤̤͚̣̫͕̰̬̼̓͑͆̒͐͗̂̓̈́̚ͅͅͅͅ"̵̨̧̡͓̤̱̪̠̺̱͕̳̝͔͕̝̯̠̻̙̬̭̦̹̔͆̈́̔̿̍̚̚͜͜͠ ̶̨̧̟̦̫̠̱̙̜̱̟͉̹̖̣͉͕̯̱̜̣̻̫̭̔̔̉̄̓̎͗́̿̃̇̔͑̀̾͐͑͆̑̇͘͘͘ͅͅ"̸̧̡̛̪̦̲̱͍̻̹͈̮̬͍̘͌̊̇̽̈̚͝Ḩ̷̡͉̼͇̤͈̩̳͎̬̭͙̺͎̖̜̜̰̩̹̻̙̟̤̰͔̠̭͙̱̘̞̈́̂͒̅̿̀̇́̑̊͊͆̒̂̊͑̄̿̿̚̚͘͜͝͠ͅơ̷̧̨̧̧̩͙͖̲͕̣̞͎̘̫͎̲̮͇̦͚̯̤͍͍̩̬̙̱̟͔̳̬̯̦͇̓̏͂̋͂̊̈̍̈́̾̓̄̎̊͊̀̊̓͌͑̄̽͐̔́̅͛̏̚͝ͅp̶̧̛̮̖̮̺̞͍͇͚̠̟̮͍͇̱̼̘͔͍̯̲̲̖͔̩̲͉̲̭̪͕̱̪͆̈́̉̐̎͒̉͌̔̆́̍̓̿̈́̑̚͜͜͜e̷̡̛͓̳̯̻͚̞̪͓̻͎͓̠͕͈͇̲͉̤̠̻̲̎͋̽̾̀̊̔̀̏̈̀̑̊̚͝ ̸̨̞̹͇̞̱̜̝̗̲̼̟̭̞̹͕͓̠̲̪̰̩͙̳̯͙͐̔͂̂͑͑̔̅̊̂̉̾̔͗͌̂̾̉̆͒͒̃̽̊̉̀̑̄̏̀̾̕̕͘̚͜͝ͅͅͅḯ̸̧̮̬͔̟̤͈̳͇̱͎͖̍̈́̽̄̓͒̌̾̈́̈́̔͌͘s̸̝̼̘̮͓̘̞̪̙̦̝̙͇͚̗̩̯̳̯͖͔̹̯̟͖̈̾͊͊͒̄̄̀͐͂̈͊͛ͅ"̷̡̧̧̻͍̳̗͙̱̞̩̺̩̗̼̘̮͔̺͎͈͑͛̓͌̂̽̉̂̈̏̓́̃̍͊̉̄͌̔̓̉͋̒͐̽̈́̉͌̾̍͘͘͠͝͝Ḩ̶̫̺̖̮̩͖̣̟͉͙̥̤̃͛̒̈́̏̌̐͊͂̂͋͠͝ơ̶̡̢̡̢̡͇͓͚͕̣̳̖̝̳̭̫̮̖͍͖̞͚̫̠͎̰̜̙̤͚̊͜ͅp̶͚̼̯̝̹͓̹̱͖̹̙͕͕͇̣͔̦̮̆͒̈́̉̉́̎̇̊͛͒̄͂̒͊̿̌̇̊͊͘͜͠e̴̜͖̮͛͛̏͂̊̈́̈́̀̓̅̐͒͂͐̈́̇̄̏̊͐̓̎̓͊̑̎̈́̒̀̈́͝ ̷̠͇͕̠̄͐̓͒̎́̆͑̒̔̈͑͛̂̋̅̔̍̾̀̓͊̐̉̊̒̉̔͛͘͘̚̚͘͝͠ǐ̸̧̡̨̞͇͎̱͚̺͙͍̞̠̙̩̖̺̳̞͙̺͇̥̃̇̏̓̍͛̈́͐̀͐̓͑̄̍͒͌́͐͆́̀͂̀̚͜͜͠͠s̴̡̨̡̧̘̙̤͈̜͙̙̰͈̭̩̩͍̺̻͎̪͖̼͕̫̯̻̓̀̀̒̃ ̷̡̣͉̤̬͙̞̰̰̘͇̻̮̮̳̜̗̝̘̯͖̃́̽͛̒̄̀̀̀͠͠͝a̷̢̨̦͍͉̱̳̪̻̖͈̿̽́͛̆̈́̓̏̀͌́͛͊̀̂́̈̿̃́͘͝͝͝͝ͅͅ ̶̛̺̝̗̤͙̗̮͂͂̒̈́́̍͑̽͛͒̈̍̈́̊̀̏̂͗͊̃̅̔́̐̈́͒̅̕͘͝p̵̧̨̙̥̗̲̪̮̩̦̮̱͚͔̣̰̆̍̈́̍̀̃̀̓̉̊̑͑͆̀̇̑̇́̓̆̊̔͋̐͋̊̑̐̀͘͠͝ͅr̵̢̛͉̺̲̯͊͂͌̃̒͒͑̆̊̃̏͗̀͊̀̑̄̽̓̀̋͌̍̎̓̒̕͠͝ǫ̴͎̭̼̼̣͓̼̙̼̖̘̹̪̮̘̳̬͓͕̘̭̳͓̳̩͈̽̑̆̋͗́̃̒̿̃̃̑̋̒̂̓͆̅͐͐́͂̅͒̑̾̄̕͜͠͝ͅm̶̡̢̡͖͉̤͚̰̺͇͎̠̬̰̫̼̟̱̬̮͓̜͇͙͇̫̣̞̦̭̱̪̄̃́̆̓͛̃͋̇̐̇ͅͅͅͅi̷̢̛̦͈̣̗͙͙̩̦̖̯͕̙̘̖̙̼̅͆̑̃̓̔̾̈́̐͐̈̿̑̔̾̑̎͌͗͑̚͜͝͝s̷̛̛̗̘͌̽̑̐͛̔̂̎̒̓̋̆͛̆̌͐̐̑͋̌́̋̊̓̒͋̂̚͘̕͘͜ẻ̸̢͖͙̹̰̘͖̲̜͕̩͇̹͎̳̭͈̼͍̞͌̇͂͑͒̊͊̾̏͗͆̋͑̎̕̕͜͝ ̸̧͎͕͓̣͔̫͈͚̲̳͔̮̙̞̭̾̓f̸̪͉̞̞͎́͗̄͛͜͜͜͝ơ̸̧̠̯̦̰̼̜̝͔̒̒̈̍̄͛̀̈́̂̓͒̐̄̊͊͐̒͂͠r̶̛̩̠̯̫̙̱̟͈̞͙̙̻̖̯̩̦͈̦͈̜̮̻̭̹̩̒̆̆̈́͊́̏̊͘͜͠ ̸̡̧̡͎̬̖͓̯̬̤̟̲͔̬̱̱͎̼̆͋̈́̎̽̇͊̑̈́̂̃̅̊̓̎̾͒͂͒̂̋́̆̀̏̎̈́̑̋͘͘͘͘̕á̵̧͍͚̯̟͓̤͖͈̘̣̰̟͔͎̘͇̩͖̖̌̿́͂͊̈̾͛̂̽́̿̍́̌͒́͒͌̀̃͐͗̇̔̓̌̎͒̀̚͝͝͠ ̸̨̡̧̧͔̠̹̥̰̰̞̜̺̱̱̱̤̬̠̤͙̻̜̰̗̬̠͐̒̀͌̏̆̑̀͗̀̈́̈̀̓͒̅͒̔̆̋̓̚̕b̸̨̢̨͚͕̱̖̯͙̫̥̺̠͈̱͓͇͇̟̗͓̮̞͙̱͓̯͇̳̬̳̖̓̓̂̀̈̓͂̃͛̕͜͝͠ͅẽ̷̢̢͍͎̹͉͉̖̇̌͛͛͂͑̈́̋͒̈́̀̚͜͝t̷̡̡̛̜̩̖͂͌̇͑́̔́̃̓͒̏̔͒̉̔͝t̷̟̜͍̣̗͎̥̟̻̮̠͇͚͔͖͐̽̐̋̈̍͛̀͗̀̌̍͆͗͘͘̚̚͘͠ê̸̡̨̛͎͉̮̣̼̰̮̣̮͚̦̳̗͉̱̲̪͓̳̽̊̌̀͊̀̏̾̎̔̂̈́͊̐͝͝ͅr̴̛͎͉̩̫̙̜̩̲̬̠̯͛͊̈́̽́̃̚̚͠͝ ̷͍̗̝̀͐͒̈̂̌̓͋̎͘͝͝f̴̡̨̭͙̗͈̮̰̭͉͗̅̌̎̄͊̌̐͐̐̀́͂̄̅͋̕͝ŭ̶̡̧̨̨̮̫͍͚͖̖͙̼̩̙̺̦̫̪̟̬̜̮̠͉̫͕͎͚̜͈̖̺̩͐́͛̄̋̆͘͝ͅt̷̨̜̞̠̭̭̤͔̭͓͈̮̗̖̩̅̋́͋̈́̾̈͑͂̉̋̍̔̆̽͛́̃̋̀̈́̊̚͝ũ̵̞̠͍̣̮͇̹͗̉̌̌̂̀̔̀̉̔̒̇̀̍̿̊̀̇̾͐̒͆̈́̕͠ȑ̴̢̧̡͉͖̣͔͇̳̙͕̦͕̼̲͐̊̈́͊̈́͐͂̉͗̇̚͜͝é̴̜̭͈͉͔̦̮͚̟̫̞̗̻͖͓͖̣̔̌̊̏͑̊͐͐̆͒̽͑͑͑͂̈͂̉̇̒̔̃̊̂̇̉̏͗̂̉̃͜͠͝͝͠͠ͅ.̷̧̧̛͇̟̦̘͖̈́̅̅́̈́̓͌̀̀͛̽͒̾̇̎̋͗̚͝ ̶̧͕͓̼̖̭̜̜̞̎̌̿͑̓̾͑̌̈̍̈͋̑͒̈́͜͝Ỳ̶̧̢̭̭͍̫͙̗͖͈͍̠̟͕̙̩̬̙̗̄̐̂̅̀̀̋͝ͅǫ̸̢̡̨̰͔̲͎̣͕̥͎̥̖͔͚̙͇̫̜̻͇͉̞̗͚̹̳̣̈́͆̿ͅu̵̧̢̧̧̧̩̦͍̻͔̖̞̣̺̞͈̤͚̼̗̞̩̻̬̪̘̥͉̪̗̦͖͉̜͖̫͂̔͐̿͗͆̃̂̉̀͊̓͌̐̉͆̃̏̽̓́̓̐͊̇̈́̈́̒̅̿͛̚̕͝ͅ ̷̧̢̨̡͚̣͈̤̺͖͉͚͎̥͓͕̱̺̃̒̾̈̒̇̑͒́͗̅̔̿̋͑̌͐̒̀̽́͘̚̚͘͝͝ͅa̸̧̯̽r̵̨̡̙̰̱̳̮̰̫̯͗̏̈̋̒̂̇̂̇̽̑̔͊͘͝͠e̸̛͕̝̞͔̲͕̙̲̘͚̐̈́̏̒̿̋͌̂̑͒͘͠ͅ ̴̬͕̉̎̆͑̏͛͘͜f̵̲̈́̊̓̔̓̀̓̇̀͌̾̅̈͂̌́̎̌̀̐͋͊̑͑͗ö̷̧̨̯̳̠̠̭̣͈̩̲͉͖̩̤̠̻̺͇̞̹̲̙͙̦̝̙̺͖̩̲́̑͂̔̒̔̂̆̀̀̍̒̈́̚͜͝c̴̤̬͖̞̮̫̝̝͓̃̈́͂͊͆̔̊͂͆̈́͐́̉̋̈͌̉̈́͐̊̉̐͐̐̈́͐̋̍̆̊͘̕̕͘͝ư̶̢͙̜͈̠͕̭̱̯̮͉͇̲͙̗̭̘͙͕̲̪̮͕̻̩̗̜̦̰͑̓̉̿̓̽͋͆̀̓̆͒̂͛͂̽̏̽́̽̑͗̕͠͝s̷̡͕̫̲̅͛̆̂̆̀͌͛̈̉̃̏̿̃̂̔̓̆̆̈̓̀͋͘̚͝i̸̧͕̺̜̺̟̅̈̐͋̈́̏́́͊͒̇͗̾̂͑̀̈̔̊̍̒̇̍́̽͒́̑̆̃̄̏̚̚͝͝͠n̶̡̡͇̥͎̩̜͚̲͕͎̬̫̩̝͖̫̬̬̙̰̫̯͍̤̗̓̅̄͌̀̀̊͌̋̐̒̂̏̔̊͜͜g̵̥͕̱̯̳̫̝̖̖̠̱̽̍͗̾̐̔̓̂͊͑̐̎̈́̓̉̽̍͊̋́̍̾͑͋̕͘̚͘̕̕͝͝͝͝ ̷͓̊̒̉̈́̉̀̉̌t̸̢̨̧̛͇̰̘̭̬̠̳͍̜͎͕̱̙̙͎̬̟̜͖̘͋͐͂͛̒͗̇̕͜o̷̡̼̱̲̟̺̗̮̙̫̿̎̓͌̐͗̌̃̂̈̊̽͌́͂͒̆̃̈̊̊̑̓̔̇̂̏͋͛̀͛̕͝o̸̡̫̥͇̬̦̯̗̘͙̜̳̙̗͐͑̔̎̈́͠ ̷̧̡̛̬̺̙̮̹̪͕̫̯̻̫̠̗̻̗̘̣̮̦͍͓͚͚̘̄̀̿͊͒̽̐̿̀͌̊͆͛̌̓͋̾͊̇̈̈́͘̚̚̚͠͠͝͝͠m̵̛̗̫̻̍̈̾̄̑͒͋̑̓̂̆̀̀͗̔͜͝͝͝u̸̢̻̼̖̗̜̫̻͈̮̙͇̘̖̻̳̱̫̍́̂͋͐͛̈̃̉̽͗͑̈́̎̍̾̕͠c̷̡̢̧̛̗̰̠̦̼͇̞̮̙͈̼͖̦̪̤̩̹͈̪̖̱͎͙̩̻͚̹̜͙̱̳͖̅̔̋̇̒̿̽̈̄̿͊͑͗̒̈́̓̏͊̈́́̀̿̇͒͜ͅḥ̸̡̛̝̜̻̻͉̜͔͖̩̩̯̹̭̯͖̯̬͕͎̪̅͋̐͋͒̎̊̌̈́̇̆̎̅̓̆͐̈̊́͌̇̊̽̍̍͂̌͐̀̐͛͊̒͊̕͝ ̴̢͚̻̹̹̜̤͉̗̤̰̣̱̟͒͛̏̍͐͊̿͑̅̑̽͜͝o̵̧̪͋͑́̀̑͂͌̾̓̓̓̉̋̽̚̚͘n̶̢̺̻̙̰̖̬̗̉̍̓̎̌̈́́͆̔̂͐ ̸̗̬̭͇̟̺̖̗̬̩̦̟̺͋͆͑̈͛̏̄́͊̈́͛̉̉͌̀̓̔̀̕͜͜ͅț̴̳̼̅̿͆̅́̐̆́̆̾͆̓̂͊͂̒͂̾͠h̵̨͖̘͕͈̥͚̫̮͕͉̋̾̇̊͐̿̌̀̎̊͛̉͂̈́͗̊͆̑̍̀͐̄̏̉͐̊́̄̉̌̚ȩ̵̨̛͓͖͕̪̹̗̦͕̭̳̗͍̩̩̪̙̱̤̰͚̼̖͉͐̀̈̄̋̀̈́̔̈́̀͘͜͝ ̸̡̳͍̦̹͚̙̤̹͇͎͕̻̼͍͓̥͖̹̮̰̐͒͛̒̋̂̀͊̆̄͌̒̊͌̋̃̅̉̾̔̑͛̆̾p̶̡̡̢͉͎̯͇͇̜̭̖̲̳̳̮̺̺͇̣͎͖̦͕̙̯̥͓͎̘̮̈́̚ͅr̵̡̢̢̛̛̞̻̳̹͇͖͍̮̙̪̩͎̤̭̲̠̦̱̭̤̙̹̟̞̲̟͍̱̰̙̋̀́̀̉̓͗̿́̾͐̐̎̌̆̔͛̇̓̂͘̚͝͝ͅę̶̧̭̣̯̖͖́̿͌̿̊͐̒̅̊̌͘͜͝͝͝ş̵̧̳͔͓͕͔̫̙̗͔̙̥̍́́̀̓͛͋̾͗̐͌̈̎̑̽̑̈͜͝͝ȩ̵͖̜̙͔̭͔̥͍͔̅̅͋̓̀͊͐͒͗̀̂̉̓́̑̃́̀̑́̂́͑̚͠͝n̷̛͔͚̭̽̅͛́͊̋̍́̓̊̓̀̄͌̿̆̌̾͗̑̽̚͘̕̕͝͝͝ţ̵̛̹̩͕̗͖̞̘̰̘̤̖̠̼͕̗̬͔̥̲̭̬͍̹͖̗͙͚͎͍̝̝͙͕̿͆̆̊͛̃̌̒̔́͂̅͆̈́̒́̑̓̅̎̉̾̌̂̆͊̈́́̊͘̚͜͜͝.̶̧̧̡̧̨̛̛̥̹͇̘͇͎͉̪̯̫̹͙̰̖͔̺̫̺̩̫̤̣͈͖̟͙́̆̀̆̀͆̈́̀̒̕͘̕͜͜ ̴̡̩͎̜̠̦̻̊̿̈́͊̓̄̌̈́̀͆͊̉̾̈́̈́͌̌̐̓̒̐̎͗̍̄̆̈̓͛̐̐̽͘̚T̷̢̙̬̖̙̞͛͝a̶̢̹͙̣̺̤͎̖̜͈̘͔̪̮̠̾̉̈̾̔̃̈́͐̌̊̚͜k̷̤̪̊̉̿̍̏̈̏͒̀̈́̉̈́̅̀̏̈́̓͝è̴̢̡̡̛̱̞̫͓͙̣̬̤͓̮̟̩̖̘͕͖̬̹͎͌̎͆̓̃͐̓̽͌̓́͊͆̔́̒̂̇͋̌̄̕͘͝͝ ̸̢̨̛̛̞̰̭̠̼̗̦̝̹͔̻̰͔̜͕̻̳͇̳̳̞́̏͛̇̊̂͒̾̽̎̎̈́̀̓̎͌͗͂̕̚͝ț̵̢̹͖̯̞̯͖̗̥̝͓̊̾͑̀͑̀͗̌́̌͊̽́̔͑̀͒̿̇ͅḩ̶̧̧̞̤͈̰͍͚̙͙̤͙̥̣̠͉͚͔͙̤͇̣͙͔͋̿́̔̈́̎̿̔́̑͑̅̒̅̇̽̆̌͛̒̃͒͊̆͋͂̍̐͐͊̽̚̚͝͝͠e̸̛͉͉̿̓̒̄̚̚͘ ̴̡̭͕͉̮̣͚̺̥͓̝͎̍̃̅̇͑͗̈̆̈́̑̒̋̏̎͐̎̊͂́̽͝͝͝ṕ̷̧̡̮̘͎̖͍͉͇͎̘̝̰͚͕̪̙̭͉̣̘̰̥̞̼̟͙̰̲̔̍̓͌́͊́̐̎͒̀̽͐͊̈̀̍̑̉̏̋̚̚͜͜͜͝͝͝͠͝ͅͅo̷̳̼͒̈́̈́̾͜ŝ̴̞̗̣͖͎̝̦̳̙͇͙̻̠̯͈̥̪͔͈̽̅̈̿̃̈́̄̋̿̐̊͒͗̍̾͜ͅs̵̡̢̢̡̡͖͈̣̰̬̗͕̮̭̻͔̥̣̣̝̪̦̪̲̖̼̝̩̹͉̦̼̤͛͆̆̓̈́̔͛̾̈́̈́̑̂̈́̂̅͊̈́͗͆͊͘̕͜ͅͅͅì̵̠̤̳̤͕̙͈̩̰̬̞̭̠͕̹̀̃̀b̴̢̧̭̗̻̱̝͖̟͓̯̝͚̖̻̝̤̲̝͙͓̱͉̰͓̠̅̂̔̾͆̀̀̒͝į̷̡̢̛̻̦͉̯̞̣͕̖̙̯̎̽̾͑̂̽̋͌̋́̑͌̄͒̈́͗̅̊̉̌͐̂̾͐͒͊̍͘̚͝l̴̜͌̆̽͗̕̚͘i̶̢̛̹̦̖̟̱̩̪̭͙͙̘̟̳̜̪͛̾͑̃̓̋̈͆̿̓t̵̘̳̞̼͍͉̜͇̮̙͚̱͕̗̻͕͚̫͔̿̎͑͂̈̀̈̑́͆̉̈́͊̽̒̅̏͗͠ͅͅy̴̢̡̡̘̟̺̠̯͕͈̩̿̾ ̵̢̢̧̭̪̪̦̠̥̆̀͐̃̍͒̄̎͗͋̿̉̅͂̇̄̐̕̚̕͝o̵̟̩͙̗̜̼̮̣̗̺̞͇͉͕̖̩͐̋͝ͅͅf̷͍̫͇̙͔̯̰̞̥͇̗̰͙̤̯̹̠̬̭̒̊̿͋ ̶̧̨̛͍̞̟̗̻̝͍̥̺̰͓̪̝̤̼̝͇͙͉̈́̀͑́͋͌̑̇̈́͒̓̈͛͒̀̒̓̾̅̇̓̉̆̏̎͛͐̆̾̒̎̕͘̕͝͝ḟ̷̢̨̨̧̨̨̯̦̩̻͉̲͙͍͓̖̗̭͓͓̰̦͇̱̮̼̭͕͕̬͇̙̳̝̃̈́͊̊̈́̑͜͝ͅu̵̡͓̜͎̗͉̘̲̦̬̣͚̞̳͎̗̰̬̟̫̭̯̹̙̩̘̠̥̩̳̫͍̦̣̳̐̒̈́́̀̈́͂̾̉̊t̴̡̢̟̻̝̞̮̙͖̻̻̻̜͎̪̀͐̒̽͒͛̈́̈̒̒̋̉͗̈́̒̈̒͌̉̍́̄̕͘͜͜͝͝ͅͅũ̴̢͚̘̻̣̠̞̪̘̖͖̲̰͚̤͔̥̯̗̣̖̝̝̫͔̠̬̰̹̈́̓͐̐̓̒̃͂͗̅̄̈́̔́́͑͋̓̐́̏̍͊̚͘͜͜ͅͅr̷̨̧̛̥̹̹̘̙͔͓̻̦͔̹̱̱̻͎̫̦̄͂͒̄̾̈́̂̀̏́͆̋̋̍̑̂͒̓̉̒́̎̔̊͑̌͘̚̚͠͝͝͝e̷̡̨̧̡̟͎͉̹̬͉̯̳͈͓͕̖̦͉̬̩̰̦̩̮̫͍̤͍̹̲̙̣͕̼̰̿͐̋̿͌̏̏̄̊͘͜͠ ̶̨̢̢̼̭̱͉̟͉͖̘̝̻̜̼̲̙͔̭͉̺̜̲̣̠̘͉̠͔̌̌̎̓̌́̊̅̂̍̑͘͘͘ͅj̶̧̢̢̧͓͈͉̘̱̼̖̗͓͈͕͍̻͖͖̪̻̩̻̦́͒͒̓̈̈́̀̃̽̆́ơ̶̦̮̰̰̦̖̯̥̈̿͊̓̾͆̂͋̈́́̇͌̉̌̀̚͜y̴̛͔͙̳͔̝͕̠͒̾̏̅͂̎̽̌͂͋̏̿̇̒͗͐̀̈́̇͘̚͘͝ ̷̢̤͎̞͙͚̜̰̘͓̘̲͂͜à̷̛̗̙͍̳͕̓́̋͐̃̾́̑̑͆̒͗̋̽́̔̊͐̔̎̍͋̀̚̚̚̕͘̕͝͝w̸̡̛͚͖̯̘̯͚̦͍̣͎̺͈̩̟͔͚̖̻̙̱͆͒͗̿̈́̊͗͛̉͋̓͂̈́͛̅͆̊̇͒͊̕͜ͅą̴̲̜̰̣̟̻̤̳̩̹̙̺͕̿̈́̌͗͋̑̊̊̆̈́́͂̂̓̉͋̓̑̆͌̉́̂̈́͘̚̕͝ͅy̷̧̡̨̡̡͚̞̤̝͈͈̟̩̳͕̗̺̜̰͈̗̰̺̳̙͐̓̾̾͐̉̓̋ͅͅ ̴̨̛̝͇̥̞̥͙̯̫̭̰̳̦͓͈͇͔̗̬̙̳͓͂̑̅̓͂̓̽͌̊̓̓͋̇̑́͊̓̔͐̎̄̏̌͂̈́͐̈̃̌̀̈͋̚̚͜͝ͅf̸̡̜͔͚̘̱̠̯̔̂̋̈́̉̏́̀͌̈́̇̇͐͘͝ŗ̶̡̛͇̠̲̩͎̝̭̳̹̈́̀̾̈́̃͒͒̀̅͐͂̏̓͆́̐̈́̅̊͊̃͊͋̎͘͠o̶̧̡̡̧̤̱͚͇̝̖̱͕̭̎́͛͑͗́̒͒̐̀̇͑́͛̽̈́̐̚̕ͅm̷̙̟̳̳̙̱̱̦͔̱̯͉͔̘̬͍̪̱̑͆̽́͆̿̽͒̽̋̐̌̔͆́͊͒͋̃̇̐̐͂̒̕͘͠͝͝ͅͅ ̸͉̻̙̯̯̬̘̣̫̹̻̀̃̍͋̂̄̌̑̓̆̈͝h̷̢̖̟̝̹͈̰̬̼̎̓̎̿͠ȩ̷̛̦̤̟͔̟̏̍́̊͌́̉͛̾̑̂̀̓̄͑̀̓͐̈͗̂̀́̉̄̓̚̕͝͠ŗ̵̛͇̹͖̩̝͆̾͛̇̏̿͛̔̋̿̚͜͝.̶̠̜̣̳̘̯̯͇͉̦̝̟̹̐͊̔̇̂̀̍͂́̑̅̍̂̿͌̅͒͛͜͝͠ͅ"̴̡̨͙͉̪͔̱͉̣̱͔̺̖͇̯͓̗͕̺̼͋̿͗͜͜͜ͅ**

* * *

Hajime's strength gave out. Any promise for a sliver of hope, a silver lining, a reason to try to keep living was now gone. He collapsed to his knees. He felt them begin to burn in the acid, still dripping from Sonia's corpse as it hung from the ceiling. His skin pustulating before boiling and sliding off his muscles. Her only recognizable feature left being her blood splotched hair.

"**She died an agonizingly long and painful death. Alongside the others."**

The voice was cold and emotionless as usual. What he couldn't understand was that it was his own. The person with his voice left the bathroom. In his hands a butcher knife, he was scrupulously wiping it down, smears of blood soaking the towel with each wipe.

Hajime finally recognized them, but he couldn't discern how this was happening. It was **Kamukura**.

Hajime tried to speak but only a soft moan left his mouth.

"**Hajime, let another die and I promise you that I will make this all a reality."**

He watched as he approached Sonia's mangled corpse, knife in hand.

"**You are nothing. You are all nothing."**

Hajime tried to scream "don't touch her!" but he couldn't. He could feel himself losing consciousness, he could no longer stand. The bones in his kneecaps were beginning to disintegrate.

With one quick strike Kamukura cut the ropes affixing Sonia's ankles to the ceiling. Her corpse flailing lifeless as she fell, as if she was a loose piece of fabric being caught by the wind. He gripped the nape of her neck in his hand. Effortlessly carrying her towards Hajime.

Still emotionless, Kamukura took the place where Sonia's face used to be and placed it next to his. Hajime tried to look away but Kamukura grabbed him by the chin, squishing his cheeks as he did so. He made him face his worse fear.

"**Look at her Hajime. I can make this happen. I can kill her. I will kill her. I will destroy everything you love if you fail. Do you understand me?"**

Hajime's mind was broken, he could only scarcely discern what Kamukura was saying. His mind fighting to even comprehend its own fear and misery.

But somehow over Kamukura's cold and calculated threats and taunts…

Chiaki's voice called out once again.

"W̶̧̨̧̨̨̡̨̝̭̮̯̣̮͈͍̩̰̫̻͔̙̫̟̹͍̻͉̎͑̄͌̈́̈́͗̏͑̓̀͆͋̔̓̽̆́̀̉̊̿̑͐̕̕͠͠͝Ą̷̙͔͉̘͍̟̬̠̻̯̰̗̱͈̥͕̰͇̭̣̠̲̘̃̉̋̒̄̉̈̂͆́͛̓͑̿̆̒̾͑́̓̚̚̚͜K̷̨̡̻͕̩̥̩̣̳̗͔̖̹̩̫̩̭͉̘̂̂̈͋̑̿̀̎͆͂͒̃̚Ę̶̦͚͕̗̩̱͓͚͚͙͖̮͍͕͉̳̫̥̠̭̩̩̲̟͙̳̥̅̏͑́̀͑̏͆̎͒̒̒̿̅͋̍̆̎̈́̚͝ ̴̡̧̠͉̖̹͔̗̗̝͍̺̪͎̜͚͚̓̅̔̃͒̇̕Ų̶̛̖̙̮̱̩͉̥͎̠͂́̋̍̈̌̉͊̅͑̅̾̉̊̽͌̌̈́͘͘͜͠͝͝P̶̢̼͚̯̫̝̦͔̻̅̅͆̈̇̀̇͌͋͒̎͂̈̇̾͆̈́͌͌͒͗̈́͝͠!̵͉̜̯̤͎̫̳͇̗̯̤͇̙̹̱̤̱̱͈̰̀͝ ̻̣͐͐̈"

* * *

With the sound, a loud thunderous strike nearby Hajime sprang awake. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his breaths shallow and swift. This unbelievable stress was tearing apart his insides. Affixing itself to anything that could be hastened and panicked. His ears still ringing, vision blurry and…

**Warmth.**

The end to Hajime's panic was instantaneous as he felt the curled-up ball of heat leaning against his left shoulder. Wearing a small, content smile, he noticed Sonia still sleeping.

"A d-dream?" Hajime whispered. He quickly grabbed hold of his chin, realizing there was no glass piercing his jaw anymore. He looked around, it was pouring down with rain, a damp light piercing the dark cast of clouds. Finally, Hajime looked at his hands, which were dry and unstained.

Too say Hajime felt relieved would be a disgusting understatement of the incredible euphoria he felt wash over him. With no regard of interrupting her slumber, Hajime wrapped his arms around Sonia, squeezing her tightly against his chest.

"S-S-S... Sun… Sunny…" Hajime could hardly form words. His high-pitched cries distorting his pronunciation.

Sonia woke up with a startle suddenly being embraced quite forcefully. "H-huh!?"

Hajime continued to embrace her; he didn't care that he would have to apologize later. She was here, she was alive, and all that mattered to him at that moment was feeling her heartbeat. Proof that she was still here and still alive.

"I care about you so much." Hajime could finally formulate words as he could feel his very soul being healed in her presence.

But on the other hand, while this was an incredibly heartfelt and emotional reunion for Hajime, Sonia was befuddled at the sudden embrace.

"You're alive… you're okay…" Hajime murmured through quickly-paced words.

Forcing her brain to start working while it begged to be put back to sleep, Sonia quickly realized that Hajime was shaking furiously. At first, she figured he was cold but then felt the cool embrace of sweat on his skin.

'He is frightened.' Sonia figured it out.

"Is Sunny my new pet name?" Sonia softly asked with a bright smile pointed at Hajime. Hoping that distracting him with an innocent question would help calm him.

Hajime felt his tension melt away. He lightly chuckled before replying. "You like it?"

Sonia blushed a little, turning her head downwards. "I have never had the privilege of being assigned an unofficial name."

While it was a slip of the tongue when he said 'Sunny' it quickly grew on him as he thought about.

With an affirming nod and smile, Hajime caressed his hand down the back of Sonia's head onto the nape of her neck, leading her to look back up at him. "You're my sunshine. So… I feel like it… fits? I mean it also shares a similarity to the first syllable of your name."

"I am your… sunshine?" Sonia blushed but maintained a happy yet slightly smug smile. "Thank you… darling."

They stared into each other's eyes for some time as if the world around them no longer existed. Their intimate bond strengthening through the simple use of naming conventions.

Without really thinking about it, Hajime kissed her. He quickly flinched back after doing so, realizing that it may have been unwarranted, but Sonia promptly wrapped her arms around his back and brought him in closer. With a tossing of her weight, Sonia brought their engagement to the ground. With Hajime pinned beneath her.

All of Hajime's anxiety and stress over the nightmare had vanished, his libido now taking charge. He felt a giddiness overtake him as he realized something. With a slight push on Sonia's shoulders to indicate a stop to their wrestling of lips, he spoke with a now free tongue.

"It just occurred to me. Since we're dating now, I can kiss you." Hajime couldn't help but let an exasperated laugh and eye roll escape him. "I don't know, it's just like… that's kind of awesome."

Sonia giggled and slapped the pec of his chest. "You understand the irony of stopping to exclaim that, yes?"

Hajime giggled once again and bit at his bottom lip, "smartass." He then took charge, grabbing her by the shoulders and flipping their positions around so now she was on the bottom. He caught a glimpse of Sonia's seductive smile before they were back to kissing once again.

* * *

**Yuki**

Yuki was still worried about Mahiru. He wondered if it really was such a good idea to leave her alone last night. So now that it was morning, rain or none, he was going to check on her as soon as possible. With a quick brushing of teeth and changing of clothes, he jogged over there, getting thoroughly soaked through in the process.

With three loud bangs, Yuki knocked on Mahiru's cabin door.

_***Bang, Bang, Bang***_

"Hey, Mahiru! You awake!?"

…

…

There was no response.

_***Bang, Bang, Bang***_

"Mahiru! You there!? You okay!?"

…

…

Still nothing. With that, Yuki began to panic, like all his worst fears were coming true. Images of Teruteru's suicide invading and corrupting his mind. He violently jiggled the doorknob to no avail. He remembered that he locked it before he left last night.

_***Bang, Bang, Bang***_

"Mahiru, please answer!"

Yuki's stomach sank. He could feel his heart beating faster and faster, he was already playing through scenarios of how he could possibly explain to the others if something happened to Mahiru during the night. In a desperate panic, he began to bash his shoulder against the door to break the lock. To his amazement, after only a couple attempts, he broke through. No sound of wood snapping, or metal coming lose, he simply… broke it. He could hear the lock falling onto the ground below.

Ignoring that detail, for now, he hurriedly gathered up his confidence now staring at the slightly ajar door. This was it, time to find out if he should have trusted Mahiru. With great reluctance…

**Yuki**

**Opened**

**The**

**Door**

Yuki regretted his decision immensely as he found on the other side of the door, a half-naked Mahiru. Only wearing panties and a bra. She was on top of her bed, half-asleep, rubbing her eyes in a daze. Or at least she was before Yuki barged in.

While Mahiru was horrified to see him, Yuki was incredibly relieved she was okay. Unfortunately, Mahiru misconstrued his expression of relief as one of a perverted nature. With the fury of a thousand suns, Mahiru began the onslaught of blankets and pillows. Throwing each one with more power and accuracy.

"**You pervert! You creep! You cretin! What the hell is wrong with you!"  
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"**

* * *

**Hajime & Sonia**

With a final slow and wistful parting of the lips, they both understood that this time had to come to an end. Their day needing to begin eventually.

"A bit longer…" Hajime pleaded.

Sonia smiled, delighted that he was enjoying himself. "There will be plenty of opportunity for that later, for now… we should head back." With one final peck on the cheek, she tapped Hajime on the shoulder getting him to let her past. Standing upright, she patted down her clothing and fixed up her hair.

"By the way…" Sonia began as she clipped back in her bow. "What was that all about back there? Did something occur?"

Hajime scrunched up his face. It pained him to even think about the horror of that dream, except… he already knew that wasn't exactly right. It wasn't just his imagination.

"Yeah… something did. We should meet up with others."

* * *

**Yuki & Mahiru**

"Now how about you explain exactly why you came barging into my room." Her nostrils flared as she spoke. She sat upon the edge of her bed, now fully dressed with Yuki kneeling beneath her in shame. "Choose your next words carefully…"

"I-I was just checking on you, I swear!" Yuki stammered with dismissive hand gestures erratically actioned.

"And for what reason would that be!?"

"I was…" Yuki's flustered expression dissipated as genuine concern took its place. "I was worried about you. You weren't answering. I'm sorry."

"O-oh… sorry. I thought I heard you knock, but I figured it was the storm… Still though! How the hell did you break down my door!?"

Yuki, now feeling that he was at least partly off the hook breathed a sigh of relief. He got back up and headed over to the door, carefully examining the lock and where it used to be attached. "Good question, I'm not that strong, but I broke it very easily."

Mahiru pouted not exactly satisfied with his answer. Nevertheless, her lock was still broken.

"Holy shit."

Mahiru was slightly startled by Yuki swearing, realizing he next to never. Now she was curious too.

"What is it?"

Yuki covered his mouth and chin with the palm of his hand. He continued to scrutinize the lock with his eyes looking like they were about to bulge straight out of his skull with how intently he studied it.

"**The lie of the island…"** Yuki muttered under his breath.

"What is it?" A slight air of concern rang through Mahiru's voice.

Yuki looked back at her with worry, but she could see a small smile cracking its way through his façade. "We need to meet up with the others."

Around mid-morning everyone had finally met back up in the restaurant. Everyone grabbed various food items and sat around the biggest table, eating being a secondary objective to meeting up with each other.

"Alright fuckers!" Fuyuhiko slammed his hands on the wood of the table, causing everyone's cutlery to rattle. "Someone want to explain to me why no one was around last night!?"

Kazuichi recoiled with resentment at the sudden name-calling, "the hell you mean?"

Fuyuhiko spun around in a 360 with his arms stretched out, a look of complete unbelievable exasperation. "Hello! The storm started dickhead; we could be attacked at any moment! So…" Fuyuhiko slammed his hands down once again. "I reiterate where the fuck was everyone!?"

No one answered, a guilty silence consuming the room.

"Oh great, so if someone attacked last night, we only would have had Akane and I defending. Fan-fucking-tastic! Glad that jerking yourselves off took priority over our friends' safety!"

"Shove off Fuyuhiko." Yuki spat back. "Friends safety, huh? What about Mahiru! Kazuichi and I were the only ones with her in the evening!"

"What!?" Akane who had previously been solely focused on breakfast now joined the conversation. "What about Sonia and Hajime?" Akane raised her brow and tilted back her head. "I thought you two were meant to be looking after her?"

"Want to enlighten us?" Yuki's tone was deep and angry. A contrast from what everyone was used to from him.

Hajime and Sonia shared a guilty glance before replying. "We… I'm sorry." Hajime murmured.

"I must apologize as well," Sonia interjected. "We were distracted by our own predicaments and did not give enough thought to others. We are truly sorry."

"What were you two doing?" Mahiru hid half her face behind her bowl, pretending that she was just eating close to her face.

Sonia and Hajime blushed, a clear guiltiness smeared across their faces. They both twiddled with their thumbs, unable to answer.

"Alright, I'm sorry, but I've got to speak my piece." Yuki slammed his hands on the table and shot up. A constant glare maintained at everyone around him but Kazuichi and Mahiru. "I've stayed quiet about this for now, but I can't take it! None of you understands just how hard it is waking up after you thought you **DIED**. Mahiru was left in my care, which I never agreed to in only a few hours after she woke up."

"Y-Yuki you don't…" Mahiru went to calm him down, but he dismissed her with a waving hand in her direction.

"Teruteru killed himself yesterday. I'm sorry, but it seems you have all forgot that little detail. You've all been far too casual about this. We've already lost someone to their misery, and it might happen again!"

"Fuck up!" Fuyuhiko yelled.

"Excuse me!?"

"You heard me! Shit's my responsibility as much as yours, and you seemed to handle it okay. Not only that but I've got the whole not letting everyone get murdered thing on my shoulders so yeah. Sorry if I need you to babysit every once in a while!"

"_What did you just say about me?" _Mahiru's voice was cold and venomous. It was as if his very presence at this table was offending her. _"Don't think you can casually refer to me in conversation you murderer."_

Fuyuhiko's lost any courage he once had. His entire body flinching at Mahiru's comments.

"Don't be a dick, Mahiru!" Akane shoved her plate away and stood next to Fuyuhiko. "He's trying his very best to take care of everyone, including you! So at least give him some credit."

Mahiru bit at her bottom lip, her muscles tensed, and her face went red. With an angry knee jerk to the bottom of the table, Mahiru shouted out. "No! I'm in the right here! He killed my best friend, why do you all think I should just let that slide!"

"She's right, you know." Yuki licked his lips before staring around the room, his gaze eventually landing on Fuyuhiko. "I know I was able to forgive Teruteru no problem, but we were in a killing game. I hold no resentment towards anyone who killed in that regard. Fuyuhiko… you… you killed in cold blood."

A series of gasps echoed throughout the room.

"I'm sorry but… you should leave. We can have separate meetings with you when Mahiru's not around. We owe her that at least."

While everyone was still shocked at Yuki's request, there was someone who wasn't. A great rage boiling inside her, begging to be released. **"No. He. Will. Not." **Akane's tone was firm but had a degree of threat behind it. "Fuyuhiko does not deserve any of this shit. Have you both forgotten that Sato killed his sister!"

"So what? Two wrongs make a right Akane!?" Yuki snapped back.

"Fuck off! Just stop giving him so much shit is all I'm asking! He's not giving you any!"

"He just needs to leave; we can catch him up later!"

Fuyuhiko palmed his forehead while groaning a dejected sigh. He turned around, ready to leave before Akane blocked him with her arm.

"**He's not leaving."**

Yuki and Akane stared each other down. Venomosity in their eyes. Both having conflicting loyalties and morals.

"Yuki…" Mahiru tugged at his sleeve. Her voice was meek and quiet. "You don't have to…"

"No! Why are any of you listening to this idiot!" Yuki pointed an accusing finger at Akane as if shifting all the blame to her.

"The fuck you just call me!?" Akane began to round the table towards Yuki.

"Oh what, big girl going to beat me up! Is that how you solve all your problems?" Yuki spat on the floor. "You're just like him."

"**That's enough!"**

Kazuichi slammed a closed fist on the table. The rattling of cutlery echoed through the room. "We're all on the same team here! Stop with this stupid fighting!"

"H-"  
"Bu-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Kazuichi slammed his hands on the table once again. "Look, we all made mistakes. We all fucked up, but we can't just dwell on the past forever."

Everyone stared at Kazuichi in disbelief.

Kazuichi began walking around the table, firstly stopping next to Sonia and Hajime. He placed his hands on both their shoulders. "Alright, they weren't around last night. That sucks, but you guys are going to do better from now on, yeah?"

"Y-yes, of course!" Sonia cried.

"Right!" Kazuichi continued now stopping next to Fuyuhiko and Akane. "Fuyuhiko has been trying his very best to protect everyone. That's just a fact. So, while you can despise him if you must for his past mistakes, at the very least… let him do his job."

Finally, Kazuichi walked around to Yuki and Mahiru. Yuki was still standing in a slightly threatening manner, while Mahiru sat in a ball in her chair. "Yuki."

Yuki rolled his eyes. "Yes?"

"We're all sorry that we haven't been doing good enough. It's hard for us to know these things if you don't tell us, and this is the first we're hearing about it." Yuki's words got stuck in his throat, a weak groan being the only thing leaving his mouth. "We promise to try to do better. Right guys!?" Kazuichi dramatically nodded his head up and down, encouraging everyone to do the same.

"Great!" Kazuichi motioned as if he was dusting off his hands before sitting back down in his chair. Kicking his feet up onto the table and leaning back into his chair. The whole time everyone watched him awestruck.

Guilty glances were shared around the room as everyone sobered from their anger.

Yuki collapsed into his chair and began rubbing his temples with his thumb and index finger. "I'm sorry. I let my frustrations get the better of me. I…" Yuki no longer felt like himself. He had never argued or insulated someone like that. He couldn't help but wonder… 'is this my true-self?'  
"I just don't want to lose anyone else. I care about all of you so much." He knew that was the truth if nothing else.

Akane sighed as she grabbed her plate and lay down on the floor. Not wanting to put in the effort of getting back into her chair. "Yeah me too, sorry."

Mahiru and Fuyuhiko shared a very brief glance. A small acknowledgement of each other.

"All right! Looks like we're all on the same page again!" Kazuichi rested his hands on the back of his head, adorning an obnoxiously large smile.

"Since when is he the mature one?" Mahiru sighed.

All the tension in the room melted away with her comment as everyone stifled laughter.

"H-hey! I've always been the mature one!"

Everyone now roared with laughter to the horrid disbelief of Kazuichi. Except for Sonia who he noticed was staring at him so earnestly it made his heart skip a beat.

"Although your reputation of being unreliable precedes you. Take pride that I truly believe you have become a better person as of late." Sonia's smile was so big and warm that Kazuichi could feel the warmth from across the room.

The praise he had received was so heartfelt and meaningful. A genuine compliment coming from a person he had admired for such a long time… Kazuichi felt something inside him that he thought didn't exist for this person anymore. He realized… he wanted to see a smile like that again. He wanted to be complimented like that again. He wanted… **this**.

"Come on, man, we're only teasing!" Hajime interrupted his introspection, noticing his wistful and longing expression.

"Oh… ah, yeah." Kazuichi muttered. He could feel his heart beating faster than any engine he could ever create.

"Okay, so shall we plan what we're doing from here," Fuyuhiko announced, trying to get everyone back on track.

"Yes, we shall." Sonia made her way next to Fuyuhiko. Her demeanour quickly changing to a more serious one. Her ability to switch to a leader at the drop of a hat was just one of the many reasons she was initially selected as the ultimate princess.

"Right." Fuyuhiko grinned, feeling more confident with her at his side. "Listen up!" Fuyuhiko unrolled the map of the island across a small section of the table. Moving cutlery and dishes out of the way to do so. Small blotches of water from the rain could be seen staining the map.

"Lab, cabins, hotel. That's where we are, and that's where everyone is staying until this storm is over. Our number one priority is keeping everyone who is still comatose safe since they can't defend themselves." Fuyuhiko now feeling a little less imperious than before decided that he shouldn't act so much like a dictator. After all, his 'leader' status given to him was more of a title than anything else. "Is that… is that alright with everyone?"

Various forms of agreement chimed through the room, even Mahiru giving a slight nod.

"Right." Fuyuhiko sighed with relief. "Got' ta keep each other safe as well so next thing is something you probably won't be fans of, but I really think it's for the best… from now on, we should all stay in the research building. No more sleeping in the cabins."

There were a few small groans around the room but not as harshly as Fuyuhiko was expecting.

"What about food and beds and stuff?" Kazuichi grumbled.

"Plenty of beds in the bay window room and we got tons of food from the warehouse, remember? Bring that shit over, and we shouldn't need to leave."

Fuyuhiko could still hear grumbles and dissatisfied sighing around the table. It seemed the thought of no longer having your own personal space was more of a deterrent that Fuyuhiko expected.

"Do you hear that?" Sonia suddenly spoke with a confronting gaze towards the rest of the group.

Everyone froze. They each turned their ears to the sounds around them. In the distance, the crashing of unpredictable and angry waves could be heard. Closer there were howling winds buffeting the restaurant, the walls straining under pressure, the slight cracking and loosening of shingles on the roof. The pounding of rain drowning out any sounds of the once pristine and tranquil island life. It's furious and numerous howls threatening to cover the island in its abhorrent misery. The claustrophobic feeling of being surrounded by water on all sides becoming more apparent with each drop. The irrational belief that at any moment, the island would be swallowed by the sea, leaving them desolate and stranded with not a foot of uncovered earth remaining.

A metaphorical window shattered for Class 77. One that released the black ooze of doubt into them. One that protected them not from the horrors of the past, but those of the present. The window was shattered, they were no longer free to deal with their misery on their own terms. Its as if the world itself had recognized their offensive existence. Man, nature, god, the differences in their realities were of no deterrent to them, in the end, they all had the goal. The same will. The same principle.

**Class 77 should die.**

The rain poured, the wind howled, and class 77 was alone.

Nothing had to be said. The class was now fully aware of the danger and agreed to these now inconsequential terms. A cold draft could soon be felt creeping into the restaurant. The rattling of the flimsy wood outside being heard creaking and moaning more with each passing moment.

"Okay, fuck!" Kazuichi projected his concern outwards as if being challenged to by the constant complaining from the building. "We'll go to the research building… honestly by the sounds of it… I don't know how much longer this place is going to hold up. So we should bring food and stuff with us, right?"

"That would be for the best." Fuyuhiko scratched at his brow. "That's why I got you guys to bring all that stuff from the warehouse… so we wouldn't have to go anywhere."

"We shall be okay, everyone!" Sonia confidently declared, feeling a little guilty over how effective her previous question had been. "With that issue sorted is there anything else Fuyuhiko."

"Not for now…"

"Alright! Then Pekoyama is next to be awakened. Once we are situated in the research building the necessary actions shall take place." Sonia was calm and confident. A beacon of light in the otherwise gloomy room. "Are there any other matters that need to be discussed before we continue onward?"

Mahiru half-raised her hand. Like that of a delinquent about to ask a teacher a snide question. "So, are you saying we're **ALL** going to be sleeping in the same room?"

"Oh well, that…" Sonia's confidence waned at her rather tricky question.

"I'll sleep elsewhere." Fuyuhiko interrupted before the awkward exchange could go on any longer. It was apparent what she was alluding to.

"A-anything else?" Sonia tried to get the conversation away from the subject as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, Yuki. We're not going to find a better time than this." Kazuichi nodded at Yuki, who nodded back. They both got up from their seats and moved to the table's end where Sonia and Fuyuhiko were standing.

"Sorry, we have something important to discuss. Mind if we take over?" Yuki asked as he directed Fuyuhiko to a nearby seat. Kazuichi doing the same. "Be my guest." Fuyuhiko shrugged.

Kazuichi flipped a chair around and sat on it backwards. Leaning his forearms on the back of it. Yuki gave Kazuichi a quick pat on the shoulder before letting him begin.

"Alright. Yuki and I have discovered something about the island that we want to discuss with you all. It's still a working theory, and we're not certain but…" Kazuichi gulped, seeing everyone staring at him with concerned and expecting eyes. Doubt was beginning to overtake him.

'Maybe I'm just overthinking this?'

Kazuichi felt another pat on his back from Yuki. His expression screaming that he was confident with their assessment.

With one last deep breath in and out, Kazuichi began.

"While repairing the alarm system, I came across some weeeeird stuff, which then made me notice more and then more until now… well, we think it's more than just weird occurrences."

"What are you talking about?" Hajime asked, clearly confused.

"General gist is… we think we've been lied to about the origins of the island. There are strange inconsistencies and nonsensical design throughout this place."

"Consider how the future foundation took away anything that could be considered a weapon." Yuki continued. "It's a strange decision considering that we can still use various makeshift approaches to equip ourselves. Still, though, there was a clear purpose behind their decision. For lack of a better word, I would call it an inconvenience. Stacking the odds against us however they can, our discoveries across the island hold this sentiment."

"Stacking the odds against us?" Fuyuhiko stroked at his chin, a brief moment of a surprise taking him when he no longer felt his beard there. While he was sceptical of what they were saying he was still listening intently. "What are you on about?"

"Ah, jeez…" Kazuichi itched at the back of his neck. "I know this sounds crazy but were almost certain that every building on this island was built by the Future Foundation. It wasn't taken over from a resort, like we were originally told."

A lengthy explanation ensued as Kazuichi discussed their findings with the rest of the group.

"Point one: as far as I can tell none of the doors _apart from the cabins _have or have ever had locks on them. Which is strange considering that a lot of valuable stuff is kept in some of these buildings. Even the research building doesn't.

Point two: The layout of the buildings. Like the position of them on the island doesn't make any damn sense! The dock is south, but the storage is north. It's like they intended it to be complicated.

Point three: when Byakuya and the others suddenly took all the 'dangerous objects' off the island. Don't you think it's strange just how easy it was? It's like they were all carefully accounted for and put in easily accessible places."

No one looked convinced. The room groaned at each other, finding their time being wasted. Yuki seeing this smirked. He was fully convinced of their theory, and it was all thanks to Mahiru.

"I get it." Yuki confidently took the stage. "Sounds like we're trying to find some hidden conspiracy where there isn't any. None of our points so far are solid proof, and together they make a flimsy case."

The group nodded disgruntledly.

"The hard truth is, we don't know what all these things mean. That's why we're telling you about it. Maybe we are crazy, but… I don't believe so. There are two things that Kazuichi hasn't mentioned yet that I think to change this narrative to more of a believable one."

The group was now back on board, all of them now curiously eyeing up Yuki. His manner of speaking was confident and professional. It was hard not to take what he was saying earnestly, unlike Kazuichi, who struggled at public speaking. Kazuichi couldn't help but sigh seeing how much more success Yuki was having than he did.

"Firstly, let's not consider the deeper meaning behind our points. What I mean by this, is let's not examine the why, but simply the what if. The what-if being; the Future Foundation lied to us and built every building on this island."

A half-raised hand erected from the other side of the table. A clearly bored Akane, trying to get Yuki's attention.

"Yes?"

"You saying even that old looking barn was built by them?"

Yuki nodded with a pleased smile on his face. As if he was a proud teacher that a student gave the right answer.

"We'll get back to that. But for now, I want to go over the two things we haven't mentioned.

Point four: In the storage building. One that was said to have already been here before the Future Foundation took over has the wires of the alarm system cemented into the concreting of the floor. An alarm system I remind you that console is in the research building. One that is said to be brand new."

Finally, the expressions they were looking for. A few gasps and agape mouths now being displayed around the room.

Mahiru raised her hand before speaking. "Are you saying the storage building was built after the alarm system? Or like, what?"

"We found no traces of newly poured concreating in the storage building. As I'm sure many of you have seen on a footpath, new cement's colouring is usually different, or it's slightly raised, or even smoother. Simply put, it's newer, so it doesn't look as aged. Not that it would make any sense for them to pour new cement for a simple wire in the first place. So… if we're correct that the alarm system was incorporated into the cementing of the warehouse and that the alarm system is supposedly new. Then it can be safely assumed that they were built and approximately the same time."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Hajime spoke up an unsatisfied expression. "I get what you're saying, and it all sounds logical, but the person who told us about the research building being new was Naegi and… I just… I don't understand why he would lie to us about that."

Hajime couldn't help but feel confused and sad. He wasn't one to make an emotional argument over a logical one, especially after the events of the killing game. But at the same time, he just couldn't comprehend a motive behind Naegi lying to them. Even Kyoko testified to the same information.

"I agree." Hajime suddenly snapped his vision back to face Yuki. "He saved us and everything, so it doesn't seem like him to lie. But… it's possible he was being lied to as well. Being told the same thing we were."

"The future foundation would lie to its own members!?" Sonia asked, shocked.

"He did say there were multiple factions, right? Future Foundation members for and against us living. Could be that whoever gave them the intel was someone who disagreed with his point of view."

The room grew silent. Each person theorizing different scenarios as to what was going on. Except for Akane who was wondering if it would be okay to go grab seconds.

"You said you had two extra points to tell us." Fuyuhiko leaned in on his chair. "What was the second?"

"Okay. Let's presume that our theory is correct. That each building was built by the Future Foundation and that we have been lied to. Now the question is why. To what end? Well… up to a few minutes ago I wouldn't have known either… until I found these."

Out of Yuki's front pant pocket, he pulled out three silver locks. They were the simple kind with a bar in the middle that you pull across to lock the door. He threw each one across the table. One to Sonia and Hajime, one to Fuyuhiko and Akane and one to Mahiru. Each one curiously picking it up to examine it.

"Tell me, can you spy what's wrong with these locks?" Yuki announced as he sat back into his chair.

Sonia being confused by a lot of small knickknacks like this, let Hajime take the lead. She peered over his shoulder as she watched him twist and turn the piece of metal between his hands.

'Something's wrong with the lock? Okay…'

He wasn't sure what to look for but was up for the challenge. Starting off, he pulled the metal bar across which seemed to be working fine.

'To be fair, if that didn't work, it would be a broken lock.'

Hajime adjusted it in his fingers, feeling the metal beneath his fingers. He tried bending it, but it wouldn't budge. He went to turn it over but felt a sticky substance left on the tips of his fingers. He rubbed them together and recognized what it was. Flipping the lock over to the part that faced the wall and looking at the screws, he now realized what Yuki was alluding to.

"There's no way?!" Hajime yelled as he examined the lock closer. "Where did you get these?"

"Off our cabins..." Yuki solemnly stated. "Long story short I busted down Mahiru's door with little more than a nudge. Then tested it on my own and… Teruteru's…"

As everyone shortly discovered on their own. The screws on the front of the lock were decorative, the only thing holding them against the framing of the door was simply a small amount of glue.

"Those things we're meant to keep someone out!?" Kazuichi sighed as he rubbed his head.

"I don't believe so… and that finally arrives us at my personal theory for what's going on here."

Each person fixed their focus on Yuki, all curious at to what these strange findings could mean.

"Presuming each building was built at the same time by the Future Foundation then what we have is no security, odd locations and lacking building design.

The Future Foundation is fractured by the idea of us living, but I don't believe that is all. If I had to guess some may be opposed to the entire concept of freeing someone from despair.

If we follow that thought to its logical conclusion, then the very idea of the Neo-World Program and this island is something they are against. A demographic of these people, we can presume, are the ones who built this island.

My guess is, these creators of the island… they were reluctant. They purposely made things strange and awkward as a way of taking out some of their frustrations. Like an angry worker mad at their boss so while they get the job done, they do anything they can to spite them.

Unfortunately, if that's all this was. Then it's not much of a concern, but… the thing is, if my theory is correct, then one part of this island doesn't add up.

**The barn.**

It looks old, rundown and out of place. It could be that it actually was here before they built the rest but… it showed no signs of ever having a lock attached to the barn doors, the question of why a barn would exist on a tropical island in the first place is also up for debate. This all leads me to believe there's still something we're missing, and that barn is the key.

**The lie of the island.**

If there really is one. I think **it's hiding there.**

Everything we've found has just been remnants, small clues accidentally left behind but the real reason Naegi was lied to. Why we were lied to is there. I'm sure of it."

The sound of wind and rain claimed the room as Yuki fell silent. He sat back down in his chair, and every one carefully considered what he had said.

A thunderous crack of lightning suddenly erupted in the room. Violently shaking the tables, chairs and cutlery. While Hajime was startled enough by the sudden invasion of noise, he was equally startled to find Sonia squeezing his bicep. Her entire body shaking, and teeth clenched.

"Look…" Fuyuhiko sighed. "We've got all the time in the world to theorize, but I want everyone safe in the research building. The storms getting worse every minute, so mind if we get going?"

"I agree," Hajime spoke up, seeing Sonia so nervous made him as well. "While this is all pretty ominous, we need to focus on our current situation. Yeah?"

Hajime felt another small squeeze on his bicep before feeling Sonia's moist breath on his ear as she whispered to him. "What about what happened this morning?"

Hajime gulped, partly nervous, partly aroused. He hastily whispered back.

"I know, I promise I'll tell you later but… I need to talk to **someone **first."

With hesitation, Sonia nodded.

"Alright!" Fuyuhiko announced. "Grab any shit you want to bring and head over there as soon as you can!"

"Right!" Everyone unanimously responded. While Yuki and Kazuichi were especially disappointed that the conversation couldn't continue, they knew that ending it here, for the time being, would be for the best.

* * *

After a few trips from the cabins and the restaurant, bringing food, water, clothing, entertainment, toiletries and more they had successfully made the research building a liveable location for the time being. Everyone was freezing and soaked through to the bone by the end of the move. Apart from Mahiru who was forced to stay inside since she couldn't walk yet. Afterward, everyone gathered up in a break room the research lab had. Everyone coiled themselves up in blankets. As they tried to warm themselves up, they had one final conversation confirming what was proceeding.

"No one leaves from now on. It's a goddamn hurricane out there, and I don't want anyone hurt." While Fuyuhiko expected, otherwise the room unanimously agreed which was a nice change.

With a nervous sigh, Fuyuhiko realized he had nothing more to talk about, which meant there was only one thing left to do. The one thing he had been dreaming for, hoping for, excited for but also dreaded.

With a confirming nod from Sonia – Hajime, Akane and Fuyuhiko headed upstairs ready to wake up their next classmate.

"Peko…" Fuyuhiko muttered under his breath, "I'm coming."

* * *

Authours Notes:

Yeah... Word did NOT like me using that cursed writing. I had SO many issues. (I'm really sorry if you don't like the use of it - it shouldn't get used in a major way like this again.)

Also, this chapter had A LOT of exposition all in the same scene. How was it? Was the last half really dull and boring? Or did you not even notice? I'd love if you can let me know so I can see how it went.

Anyway, expect another chapter fairly soon. A short one, followed by a normal length one. Both should have Peko as a primary focus.

Thanks so much for reading, please let me know what you think! Reviews give me so much encouragement to continue so please do if you feel up to it!

P.S. None of the cursed writing is gibberish if you can decipher what it says, a lot of plot points from later on can be discovered early.


	15. A Selfish Request

"She is a tool, nothing more." This was drilled into me from an early age. I can't even recall the first time it was said to me… probably before I could even speak.

"She is a weapon," I remember on the rainy days of spring, seeing the garden in full bloom as I watched her train in the dojo. It was brutal, she would often come back inside with bruises and on occasion, a broken bone… but still. She would always get back up and keep going.

"She is your slave." Sometimes servant. I don't believe they cared much for the rhetoric. Either way, they wanted me to treat her beneath me. So… I did.

"She is not your family." No, she had silver hair. She was different. She didn't look like us. She didn't act like us. She was different. That made me better.

"You can do **WHATEVER** you want with her." They would always follow their provocative provoking with a sly wink or nudge. They would say this to a growing boy, I could never understand what they were alluding to.

**She is a tool**

**She is a weapon**

**She is a slave**

**She is different**

**She is whatever I want her to be**

**She is a tool**

**She is my tool**

How long did it take?

I was what?

11?

No… 12.

It took 12 years until I finally saw you as anything else.

Evidently, it was on this day when I realised… what an incredible person you are and what a piece of shit I am.

* * *

My fuckup started when I noticed some kids at school, playing with some dumb playing cards. They had some colourful animal-monster type… thingies… illustrated on them. I'd always see 'em in the back of class laughing and yelling as they traded and played with them.

I didn't get it… what was so exciting about some drawings? Well, one day, my curiosity got the best of me, and I asked to join them. To my surprise, the moment I showed interest they all leapt at the opportunity. They talked me through this whole game you play and currency associated with each card. Shit was a whole 'nother world.

We even skipped our last class to continue a match, it was… fun. The first time I had done anything like that. I can be pretty abrasive and confrontational, yet they invited me back the next day. I was… excited. Normal kid stuff. It was better than I thought.

So, on the way home that day, I bought a pack of those cards. They were cheap, and my allowance was more than generous, so I didn't see the harm. At least that's what I told myself, I knew if my father or mother found out there would be hell to pay for owning such a childish thing. But I didn't care, it was my first time having something like this and I was excited.

When I got home - Peko had arrived there before me. Like usual; she was under the shade the cherry blossom tree in our backyard, striking the air over and over with her bokken. An apple lodged between her teeth. She would occasionally pause to take a bite before continuing. She was never one to waste time.

Seeing her occupied and no sign of my mother or father, I seized the opportunity to take a better look at my new collection. I laid out each one in a symmetrical pattern on my bedroom floor. The bright and energetic colours that radiated off the cards were so foreign between the bleak walls of our home.

I remember feeling so strange looking at those cards.

It felt like two worlds colliding.

Ones that would never be associated with one another.

It was like… fuck, I don't know. Seeing what my life could have been like if I had been a normal kid.

"Fuyuhiko…" I heard my father utter through a friendly façade – trying his best to hide his contempt. "What are those?"

I didn't hear him arrive. I was utterly enamoured by my new toy. "Sir… I uh…"

He picked one up. He examined it front and back, an evident disgust cemented on his face. Staring me in the eyes, he then threw it at me. "Do you want to explain to me why you have these?"

I was caught. I could feel his disappointment and anger crawling up my spine. There were no excuses, no compromises it was just a matter of time until I would be punished, and I hated his punishments. They hurt real bad, and up to that point, I don't think I had ever pissed him off so much.

I tried thinking up scenarios to lessen the blow.

'Oh, these? I stole them off some nerd for pissing me off.' That wouldn't work. He would ask why there sprawled out on the floor then.

'Got these as a present from some kid in class.' That wouldn't help any.

In the end, I realised it would be best to come clean. No point getting caught in a lie as well.

"Sir… the thing is-"

"**They are mine."**

Clear, confident, not showing a lick of fear you stood in front of my father and lied to his face.

"Excuse me?" My father's tone had even more anger contained behind it than before.

"The cards on the ground. I bought them."

My father huffed air through his nostrils while he rubbed the palm of his hand over his mouth. He often adopted such a pose as he held back anger.

"Why?" He huffed.

I could see the small amount of panic cross your face as he asked you. You hadn't thought that far ahead. I was of no help, you looked at me briefly to see if I had anything to offer, but I just sat there dumbstruck. Finally, you thought of a plausible scenario, and while it would make things even worse for you, it would remove all suspicion placed on me.

"Fuyuhiko asked me to buy him a drink from the market down the road. Seeing that this was a special occasion, I saw no harm in indulging him this once. While there I saw these cards advertised towards his demographic and decided to buy them for him."

It wasn't the story that did it. It was the way you told it. So convincingly that even I wondered if I had forgotten what happened.

My father was a smart man, but it seemed he couldn't see through your lies. After all, you never had before.

With a threatening gaze, he peered back to me. "Is this true, Fuyuhiko?"

I was still dumbstruck; I wasn't sure what to do. I was about to go through with your plan when suddenly… you smiled. Behind his back, where he couldn't see, you gave me a small and thoughtful smile. A friendly one that I had never seen before.

I didn't want to see you get hurt for something I did.

But I was scared.

I was so scared.

I didn't want to get hurt.

So, I let you instead.

"Yes." I solemnly replied.

He quickly stormed off. I was left there with you for a small period before he returned.

Making sure he wouldn't hear I mouthed the word; "why?'

You smiled once again and took one last bite of your apple. Most likely knowing you wouldn't get to eat for some time for a fuckup this big.

"Happy birthday." You whispered through a wistful expression.

**'You're not a tool. You're a better person. A better one than me.'**

It was odd.

I heard all these awful things about you.

I learned the way that you should be treated.

I saw how they acted around you.

And now I knew…

**It was all bullshit.**

You are different.

Because you're better than us.

With that departing thought, I watched as my father's hand coiled around one of your braids as he began yanking you down the hallway. It was also the last time I would see you for that week. Yet… I could still hear you.

When you were punished, you wouldn't usually make so much noise.

It must have been even worse this time.

I found it so difficult to get to sleep.

The sound of the fridge buzzing, the occasional passing car, the crickets chirping, and you crying.

I still don't know what he did to you… but it must have hurt… it must have hurt real bad.

I'm sorry.

I'm so so sorry Peko.

I should have stood up for you.

I should have said something and been a man.

But… I'm not.

I was a stupid, selfish, fucking kid, and I still am.

How many times now have you sacrificed yourself for me?

I don't deserve you.

I put you through so much…

Back then, while despair, in the killing game and even now.

I'm still selfish.

I'm thinking about me while you're here, asleep. I hate myself. You deserve better. Yet still…

I just want you.

* * *

_Nothing._

_Nothing._

_Nothing._

_No…_

_That isn't right._

_I'm here._

_I'm something._

_I don't know what though._

_**Who are you?**_

_Me…?_

Peko recognised this voice. It was her own.

_I'm… Peko, Peko Pekoyama._

_**What are you?**_

More memories came crashing into her mind. There was only one answer to that question.

_I'm a tool._

_**No, you're not.**_

_Yes, I am. My sole purpose is to serve the Young master._

_**What do you want?**_

_I want nothing but to be by his side._

A cacophony of colours splashed together in front of Peko's being. It was of incorporeal form, one that she could not comprehend but one she still recognised as herself.

"_**You want?"**_ The being adopted a condescending tone. _**"A tool does not want."**_

_No… I… I must be useful to him._

More colours appeared one to her right. This void, this nothing, Peko was starting to realise that was not the case if she could comprehend direction.

_**A tool does not care if it is useful. A tool is just as happy to be useless. It is just as happy to be discarded. Do you want to be discarded?**_

_I… I don't care._

Now to her left, more colours. Black, red, white and silver. Wait… she now recognised it was her body.

_**You're lying.**_

_No…_

_**Why do you lie?**_

_Stop._

_**Do you want to be discarded?**_

_I… I just… I want to stay by his side._

_**Why?**_

_I… I don't know._

Blackness surrounded her once again - the colours disappearing.

_Nothing._

_Nothing, again?_

_No…_

_No, this is different._

_What is this?_

_There is something, but I can't see it._

_It's dark._

_It's so dark I can't even see my hands._

_Wait…_

_My hands!?_

Peko had being once again, and with that realisation, a single bright spotlight appeared in the darkness before her. She watched as a little girl approached the light, her hair in braids. Her body beaten, bruised and bloody. It was herself.

_**I want to protect him.**_

The girl's voice was meek and scared. She remembered how terrified she was back in those days. Crying herself to sleep each night.

Another spotlight fabricated, she appeared again. Now a little older.

_**I want to play with him.**_

_No… I… I'm his tool. Nothing more._

_**Why are you lying?**_

Tens of spotlights now surrounded Peko. Versions of herself appearing beneath each light. All various ages and appearances.

_**I want to laugh with him.**_

_No…_

_**I want to have fun with him.**_

_No._

_**I want to know him.**_

_NO!_

_**I want to be his equal.**_

_SHUT UP!_

_**I don't want to be a tool.**_

_NO! I'M A TOOL! I AM A TOOL!_

_**I want to be happy.**_

_I'LL BE HAPPY AS LONG AS I AM BY HIS SIDE!_

_**I want to be my own person.**_

_NO! THAT DOESN'T MATTER! IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT I WANT! I DON'T WANT!_

The voices were beginning to get louder. Peko curled herself into a ball in a futile attempt to muffle the sound.

_**I want to know his touch.**_

_NO! NO! NO! NO!_

_**I want to love him.**_

_NO! STOP! I'M BEGGING YOU TO STOP!_

More and more lights appeared. More and more versions of herself that she wanted to deny emerging beneath each one. The room became brighter and brighter.

_**And I want him to love me.**_

Peko broke down into tears - unable to reply. Her sobbing being of little comfort to the contradiction inside herself, tearing her apart. Her other versions vanished with a sudden gust of wind, but the light remained. Peko thought she may have been free of herself when she heard the voice speak again.

_**Who are you?**_

Peko was unable to answer.

_**Who are you?**_

…

_**Who are you?**_

_Stop talking!_

_**Who are you?**_

…

_**Who are you?**_

… _I'm Peko._

_**What are you?**_

_I don't know anymore._

_**Why are you crying?**_

_I don't know._

_**A tool does not cry.**_

…

_**What do you want?**_

_I don't know._

_**You're lying.**_

…

_**Jeez… why don't you get it yet?**_

This voice. It was no longer her own. It was… it was…

_Young master?_

_**You stayed by my side… all this time… why don't you get it…?**_

_M-m-m-master?_

_**I never needed… a sword… or a shield…**_

The light grew brighter and brighter, engulfing the darkness around her.

_**I never needed a tool.**_

_You never needed me?_

_**S-So… You didn't need to become a tool.**_

_I… I didn't?_

_**You just… you just needed to be yourself…**_

_What…?_

_**I… I never wanted a tool! I just wanted you! Only you!**_

_You wanted… me?_

_**Wh-why!? Why couldn't you understand!?  
We've always been together, ever since we were kids!**_

_But I… I thought… I didn't know!_

His voice grew fainter as it grew further away into the light.

_**P-Please Peko! Don't go…!**_

_No! Young master! I don't want to… I don't want to go!_

_**I need you! Don't leave me!**_

_NO!_

Peko called out to him. She yelled and screamed and clawed her way towards this overwhelming light. She could… she could see him. Crying. Bawling his eyes out as he mourned… her.

_I… I didn't know._

Suddenly a vision appeared before her, an answer to why she was in this void. The first thing she noticed was the desperate pleading in his eyes as he rounded the samurai looking for an opening.

_W-wait…_

He found it. She watched him as he began to shove past the robots.

_N-NO! YOUNG MASTER! YOU WILL GET HURT!  
YOU CAN'T! NOT FOR ME! DON'T DIE FOR ME!_

_She went to strike them but felt her blade not against hard-mechanical gears but the easily malleable nature of human flesh. To her horror, she watched as her blade sliced up his torso and face._

_NO! NO! NO! NO! PLEASE! NO!_

Peko clutched him in her arms. Burying him beneath her body as she felt the stabbing of tens of blades pierce her back.

_NO! YOU HAVE TO SURVIVE! I'LL PROTECT YOU! PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO SURVIVE!_

_SURVIVE!_

_SURVIVE!_

_PLEASE!_

_YOU MUST SURVIVE!_

The scene vanished, leaving Peko once again in this isolating darkness.

_I KNOW WHAT I WANT!_

_PLEASE!_

_I KNOW WHAT I WANT!_

_ASK ME AGAIN!_

_PLEASE!_

_PLEASE ASK ME AGAIN!_

She got no response from the voice.

PLEASE!

I WANT!

I WANT YOU TO ASK ME AGAIN!

_**You want?**_

_Yes!_

_**Who are you?**_

_I am Peko Pekoyama!_

_**What are you?**_

_I… I… I AM A PERSON!_

_**What do you want?**_

_I want him to survive! I don't want him to die! Not for me! Not ever! I… I don't want to see him cry like that! Please! _

_**I DON'T WANT HIM TO DIE!**_

* * *

The light overwhelmed her overtaking her whole body. She felt as a gust of wind whisked her away.

An aching in her throat. The steady beating of a heart monitor. A green hue of glass. The ocean scent. A metallic taste in her mouth.

These are the first sensations that Peko experienced as she regained consciousness. Questions of how she was here and what was going on were put aside for the only problem that mattered to her.

"Is Young master Fuyuhiko okay?"

Peko tried to move her body but couldn't. Her muscles feeling paralysed. With hard-fought determination, she managed to move her left elbow to her relief. Now knowing it was possible – with gritted teeth, she screamed at every muscle in her body to get their shit together and start working.

With slight movements across her whole body now - the pod opened. The warm, soothing embrace of fresh air greeted her now porcelain-like skin. With incredible effort and pain, she managed to sit up. Clutching at her forehead as she did so, feeling like her brains would spill out if she didn't. With multiple pained blinks, Peko's eyes adjusted to the bright fluorescent light shining from above her.

And finally…

She saw the blurry outline of the person she was looking for.

"Y-young… master?" Peko furiously coughed having forced the words from her throat.

"P-Peko?" He frightenedly asked.

Peko's throat was on fire, she had never felt this kind of sensation before. Furthermore, it was completely dry, and she was incredibly thirsty, but she didn't let that stop her.

"I-Is it… really you?"

Peko held at her hand, and in turn, Fuyuhiko placed his in hers.

The moment was utterly unreal for them both.

This person who he had watched die, this person who he watched blankly sleep for so long. A person who he had thought he would never get to see again was now alive.

This person who she fought to protect, that she had sacrificed herself for. A person who she had thought she would never get to see again was still alive.

With neither particularly initiating it they found themselves hugging each other.

And with the warm touch of each other's body heat. Truly feeling each other's presence. Peko found her eyes began to moisten without her consent. She wasn't exactly sure why she was crying, but all she did know was how happy she was to be in his arms.

Somehow, whether through fate, luck, or a mix of both. They had survived their insane ordeal and had finally been reunited.

**Peko Pekoyama (the person) is awake.**

**-7 Students Remain-**

* * *

With their engagement finished Fuyuhiko draped a hospital gown over Peko to cover her nakedness. He sat back down in the rickety chair as an air of silence filled the room. He watched as Peko went through various facial expressions as she recalled how she got here.

Fuyuhiko twiddled with his thumbs as he waited for a good time to approach what he wanted to say but quickly realised there was never going to be one.

"Peko, do you hate me?"

Peko was derailed from her train of thought by the curiously out of place question. She gave him a whimsical look and angled her head. "Why would I hate you?"

Fuyuhiko was taken back as if offended by her. "How could you not after what I put you through… how selfish I am. You deserve better than me."

While Peko was not one to anger, she felt a rage begin to build at the idea of entertaining this ludicrous narrative Fuyuhiko was spinning.

"You are not one to demean yourself. Why are you starting to now?" A cold thought pricked the hairs up on the back of Peko's neck. Had he changed so much in this time without her?

"Listen… the things we did while we were **brainwashed**. The things I did to you, you have to hate me for that, right?"

Peko sighed as she leaned back against the headboard of the bed. She had recalled enough information to have a working hypothesis of what was going on. While Fuyuhiko had not told her anything, yet she took this to mean that he considered this matter of priority. So, putting her curiosity aside, she contemplated the best course of action going forward. What was the best way to help him?

Peko was beginning to formulate ideas of the most efficient way to improve his mental stability. The cause of the imbalance seeming to be his relationship with her.

'Simple affirmation should do the trick.' Peko concluded.

She was about to speak when she saw Fuyuhiko begin to cry again. A fresh memory rose to her conscious as his tears began to fall.

_**I want him to survive! I don't want him to die! Not for me! Not ever! I… I don't want to see him cry like that! Please! Please! I'm begging you!**_

'That was…'

_**I… I never wanted a tool! I just wanted you! Only you!**_

'You did… didn't you…'

She had realised she was going about this all wrong. She was still treating him like a master and herself a tool. Peko caressed the lines of her palm with her thumb and realised she no longer had calluses from wielding a blade. She couldn't recall the last time she had hands this soft.

Soft.

She was soft. Weak, emotional, scared - she could no longer be a tool to him in this state.

Peko felt her emotions begin to boil over as a sincere and visceral question began to bubble forth.

It was a selfish question.

One she would not have dared ask if she still saw herself as only a tool.

It was time to know.

A tool or a person.

What did he really want?

"Young master, what you said before I was killed. Did you mean it?"

"Did I…" Fuyuhiko unburied his face from his hands and stared back teary-eyed. "Of course. I… I only want you Peko. I never needed you to be a tool."

"You want me?" Peko felt the words fly out of her mouth. This was one of the few times her emotions dictated her words. "I do not understand… why?"

"Why!?" Fuyuhiko snapped. "Cause you're goddamn amazing! I've never had such respect for **a person**! That's why!"

"A person…" Peko muttered beneath her breath. "Is that how you have always seen me?"

Fuyuhiko slouched back into the grooves of the chair. "Not always… Peko, do you remember when we were kids, and I brought those stupid cards home?"

Peko nodded thoughtfully in reply.

"You protected me… even though I brought it upon myself. I knew from then on how amazing you are."

Peko felt a rush of blood redden the pigments of her cheeks.

"You have thought of me like that for all these years?"

Fuyuhiko forced a puff of air through his nostrils and shook his head. "I'm so sorry. I should have seen it sooner. I should have… protected you."

"I see…" Peko felt an enormous – all-encompassing heat inside her. Unbridled joy at his incredible praise and confirmation of what he truly wanted. Not a tool. For some reason he wanted her, she still didn't fully understand why.

Peko covered her mouth with her fingertips and began to giggle. A very girlish and improper giggle. One completely unfitting of her characterisation as a Yakuza's bodyguard.

"You truly are selfish Young master; it seems you did not even fulfil my final request."

"Your final request?" He thought back to that tragic moment. One that he had done his best to hide in the dark recesses of his subconscious. But now that the meaning of such a terrible event had been reversed he felt confident enough to bring it back into the forefront.

"_**Young master Fuyuhiko... Please permit me to make one final selfish request... I want you to remember... the tool, Peko Pekoyama, who used to stand beside you... I would like it if you remembered that."**_

Fuyuhiko caught the air in this throat as he realised what he was being accused of. "What!? NO! I never forgot you for a second!"

Peko continued to giggle at his expense. "Yes, but you see… you remembered me as a person, not a tool."

Instinctively he went to argue back until realising what she actually said - Fuyuhiko couldn't help letting out an exasperated cackle. "Damnit… I couldn't even do that right…"

"Absent-minded, as usual, I see…" To Peko's relief, she realised he was the same young master she had grown up with.

"I'm sorry… I really am selfish."

"Yes," Peko replied with a warm smile. "You can be."

Fuyuhiko's face contorted into a pained expression - it seemed he only heard Peko's words and not the intention behind them.

"But I can be too," Peko admitted her smile fading ever so slightly.

Fuyuhiko recoiled in horror – his expression was as if someone just called his mother a whore and kicked a puppy in the same breath. "No, NO! You are incredible and beautiful and…"

Peko calmly listened as he rattled off various qualities that were supposedly about her. It was a curious experience hearing someone think so highly of you, yet not believing a word of it.

"Do you really think that way about me?" Peko asked with a wistful scepticism.

"I-I do."

An enormous smile carved its way onto Peko's usually desolate face but as her smile grew wider, so too did her tears become more frequent.

"Thank you… thank you so much. But I am none of those things you describe me as."

"What? No!" Fuyuhiko slammed the palm of his hands on the metal of the pod, making it rattle. "You're incredible, and I won't let you think of yourself as anything less! I know I can't compare to you but-"

"Stop it!" Peko shouted in frustration. The powerful words scratching her throat as she did so, warning her not to cry again. "I… I do not wish for this. I do not want you praising me like some goddess."

Any more words Fuyuhiko was going to spout were stopped by his gritted teeth. With a hefty heave, he collapsed back into his chair.

"I don't understand… why are you saying all these things now?"

Fuyuhiko pinched his fingers. "I've treated you so awfully I want you to know how amazing I think you are."

"I see."

A long silence followed as the two considered what to say next. Both had so many things to talk about yet verbalising them seemed impossible. Eventually, Peko found the words she was looking for.

"You asked me if I hate you. I never gave you a proper answer. Would you like one?"

Fuyuhiko was lost in Peko's crimson eyes as he nodded without thinking. Her answer would dictate so much of his life from this point on, and it was all her decision.

**"Never say such foolish things to me again. Of course, I don't hate you."**

Fuyuhiko felt guilty. Not happy or relieved. Guilty, so guilty.

"How? I made you do things… I did things to you that I could never…" The tears dropped from Fuyuhiko's eyes like faucets.

"**Brainwashed**… that is what you said, isn't it?" Peko asked rhetorically. She just needed confirmation that she was correct. Since he didn't outright deny it, she presumed it to be true. "Then why would I blame you for those things?"

"You… you don't feel guilty?"

"Of course not. We were forced to do those things, why would I?" Peko asked so calmly and casually that it seemed that she was merely stating a fact. The sky is blue. The grass is green. Why would I feel guilty? They were each as valid as the last in the mind of Pekoyama.

While Fuyuhiko felt in awe of her inner strength, he could still feel a chill crawl up his spine at her callousness.

"I see…" Fuyuhiko struggled to utter the words. "That's… good to hear."

"If that is so, why do you seem so upset?"

Fuyuhiko wore a small smile as he took Peko's hand in his. His posture straightened, and his face stiffened.

"Peko listen… It means the world to me that you don't hate me, it really does. But… you really are a better person than me. I think it would be best if we split ways, you'd be better off without me around. I know you don't see yourself that way, but I'm sure you'll soon come to discover for yourself, just how amazing you are."

"You really think I'll be better off without you?"

Fuyuhiko closed his eyes and nodded.

Peko squeezed his hand in hers and put her other hand on top of his.

"You are lying to me," Peko stated in a low monotone. "What you really mean to say is: You feel guilty when you're around me, don't you?"

Fuyuhiko went pale and lost any kind of response he had at Peko's spot-on deduction.

Peko clicked her tongue and looked away, "you truly are selfish."

"Y-yes…" Fuyuhiko shyly muttered. "But that's the reason why you should-"

"HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED HOW I FEEL!" Peko yelled once again, ignoring the pain in her throat. "I WANT TO BE WITH YOU TOO!"

Peko slammed a fist onto her hip in frustration and yanked Fuyuhiko closer so he couldn't look away.

"I am selfish! I am uptight! I am serious and can be boring! I have many flaws! In my opinion, you have always deserved better than me!" Peko began to feel tears careen down the sides of her cheeks as she began to tell the truth behind their childhood.

"Bright, charismatic, funny and quick-witted. You were the ideal Yakuza. Sometimes I would find it hard to believe how perfectly you fit the role and how ill-suited I was to be your tool… yet. I still wanted to be. So, I trained, and I suffered. I worked so hard so I could be worthy of being by your side. Yet I never felt good enough… never… even now. I could have told your parents I wasn't worthy that I wasn't skilled enough… but I didn't! Why… because I'm **selfish**. I wanted to stay by your side no matter what… no matter how much it hurt or how hard it was. I felt at home right there beside you."

Fuyuhiko had never seen Peko so honest with her feelings before. He watched as her posture slumped, and she covered her face with her hands.

"That's why I protected you when we were children. Not because I'm selfless. It was an apology. A small token of gratitude for the debt I felt I owed you. That I'm sorry, you have to put up with someone as **awful** and **selfish** as me."

Fuyuhiko had lost her once before. He genuinely thought he would never see this amazing woman again. Yet somehow the fates or god deemed it to be that they were reunited. He was scared, though, scared that he wouldn't be a healthy influence in her life. That she might despise him. With these concerns now gone, nothing was holding Fuyuhiko back from what he truly wanted.

He was scared and insanely nervous.

But he was not going to let her slip through his fingers again. No matter what happened from here on out, he wanted to be honest with Peko with how he truly felt.

Noticing Peko's grip around his hand loosening - Fuyuhiko tightened it, this time bringing her in closer. With their face's mere inches away from each other, Fuyuhiko admitted the truth.

A truth that he still felt was selfish of him.

That would end badly.

That might hurt them both more than it would do good.

But he no longer cared.

'I'm a selfish bastard, but for some fucking reason, she still wants to be with me. So be it. I'll teach her just how selfish I can really be.'

Fuyuhiko closed his eyes and began to do what he had always dreamed of doing.

"**I love you."**

22 years.

It had been 22 years, and finally, Fuyuhiko knew the taste of Peko's lips. A secret he would take to his grave as he wanted this sensation to be exclusively for himself. As he moved his face away and opened his eyes, he could see Peko bright red and wide-eyed.

"Peko, if you truly think of yourself as selfish, then let's be selfish together. Please, stay by my side."

Peko could feel the heat in her cheeks and her heart beating out of her chest. For a split second, she wondered if she ended up in heaven. With an obnoxiously wide smile one quite ill-suited for a bodyguard she agreed with a frantic nod.

With a cheeky, childlike grin completely ill-fitting of a Yakuza, Fuyuhiko giggled in reply.

They both hugged each other for a long time. Enjoying the presence of each other's true selves, not misguided by what they should be. Finally showing each other who they really are.

For that brief moment. In a world of pain and suffering, they had found true happiness.

* * *

"Y-young master?" Peko whispered in his ear as she felt the moment had come to its natural conclusion.

"Hey, come on now. You should really call me Fuyuhiko." He chuckled.

"F…F…F-Fuyuhiko." It was tangled mess in her mouth, but she felt relieved when she saw his face light up. "R-right well… I… I still don't exactly understand what's going on. I remember a few things, but… where are we… when are we… and is there anyone else? Those questions allude me."

Fuyuhiko nodded earnestly as he turned his chair around so he could lean on the back of it.

"Right!" He nodded with a beaming grin. "I guess I'll start with the important stuff first yeah?"

Peko diligently nodded back.

"Well, the most important thing you should know. The first thing I tell anyone when they wake up from the simulation."

Peko nodded again. Indeed, this was vital information that would be incredibly useful.

"Is that…"

A variety of scenarios ran through Peko's head as she tried to predict what he was going to say.

"Hajime… snorted… soup."

The sound of Peko slapping her forehead could be heard across the entire building.


	16. The Pulling Of Strings

With the move to the research lab complete and everyone exhausted they each separated for the time being.

Fuyuhiko went ahead with Hajime and Akane to wake up Peko. After making the preparations, however, Fuyuhiko insisted on being alone. Though they argued they eventually relented to his request. Hajime went to find isolation as he still needed to talk to **her**, while Akane simply wondered. Unsure of what she should do with herself.

Meanwhile - Sonia, Kazuichi and Mahiru gathered in the break room on the second floor. With nothing better to do than kill time.

The break room was a rather ample space taking up most of the second floor. With its outside wall consisting solely of a large window, giving an excellent view of the island. Unfortunately, due to the storm, the only things that could be seen is the river of rain careening down the pane of glass. The room's contents consisted of a few couches surrounding a coffee table, a small kitchen and a large dining table with a few old looking wooden chairs.

Most of all, the room was thankfully cosy, with oil heaters on each of the opposing walls and blankets brought in from the cabins. With Sonia and Kazuichi still soaking wet they wrapped themselves up in the biggest and fluffiest blankets they could find before retreating to the couches. Mahiru wasn't allowed to help with the move, so while stuck inside, she made the others snacks.

Once Sonia and Kazuichi had arrived, she brought over three cups of green tea and ginger biscuits.

Setting them down on the table and taking a seat, they surrounded one another with each of them on their own couch.

"Ahhh, man…" Kazuichi furiously scrubbed at his head with his fingers. "I'll never get dry again!"

Sonia gathered her hair up and began to ring it out like a rag. "It is raining dogs and cats out there!"

"Ah! So close…" Kazuichi giggled, "the saying is '_it's raining cats and dogs_.'"

"What?! The order of the animals' matters as well!" Sonia's face went bright red, it looked as if she was about to explode. "Why does this language have to be so dang hard!"

* * *

**Hajime**

Hajime had made his way up to the fourth floor of the research building. While it mostly housed office space with various desks scattered around the open area, it also had the computer room which monitored the simulation.

He wasn't sure where to go to do this, all he wanted was to not be seen. Although it would be all more embarrassing if he were found, he figured out a place he could hide from the others. Going onto all fours, he crawled under a desk and hid beneath it. He sat in a small cube shaped space beneath an average work desk, where someone would usually place their feet. With a sigh, Hajime outstretched his legs as far as he could until the hit the wood on the other side. At most - two people could fit in there, which was perfect for him.

"Alright, so mind explaining to me what the hell happened back there?"

Lifting his head to face her, she stared back with her big rose-coloured eyes. She was already sitting comfortably beneath the desk with him, it was as if she had been there the whole time.

"I suppose I do owe you an explanation, huh?" Chiaki murmured.

Hajime felt beneath his chin where the glass was lodged in the dream. The pain he felt was excruciating, and it all felt authentic.

"Please. What was all that about? Why was Kamukura there? What were those memories… were you the one sending them to me? Kamukura warned me… but of what?"

Chiaki smiled. "It seems you haven't lost your detective knack. I'm glad."

Hajime blushed ever so slightly. "Yeah. Well… I can't afford to lose it. Not now."

Chiaki clenched her fists and waved them up and down. "Right! Yes, yes! There is a mystery to solve! Although…" Chiaki's face darkened. "I have all the answers. So, it's not much of a mystery, huh?"

Hajime was confused. Chiaki looked legitimately disappointed. "Shouldn't it be a good thing if you know all the answers?"

"Yes. Well…" Chiaki began fiddling with her pinkie finger. "I was hoping we could solve a mystery again. It would be nice…"

"… Just what… what are you?"

Chiaki replied with a sad smile and teary eyes. "Unfortunately, I know the answer to that as well." She quickly wiped them away with the sleeve of her hoodie. "Anyway. One thing at a time. So that dream you had… as you might have guessed…

Kamukura was behind it, and he's not happy."

* * *

**Mahiru, Sonia & Kazuichi**

With the few fingers he had left – Kazuichi wrapped them around the mug. It was warm. He pressed it against his cheek before taking a sip.

"Ah… terrible." He softly sighed, yet still seemed satisfied.

"W-W-Well… Shut up! I tried okay…" Mahiru pouted before clutching at her cup of tea and taking an enormous sip. Her entire face shrivelled and now resembled an old man. "See, perfectly fine!"

"Perfectly fine my ass!"

"S-Sonia… what do you think?" Mahiru asked.

Sonia took a sip.

She paused as she swallowed.

Placing the cup back on the table, she smiled warmly at Mahiru. "I believe you tried your best."

"OH, GOD! IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?!"

For the next few minutes, they both did their best to calm down a completely distraught Mahiru.

* * *

**Akane**

The concrete steps were cold beneath Akane's feet. She watched each drop of rain harass the ground. Only very slightly dampening her toes with the resulting splash from each one.

"Akane…" A stern but curious voice came from behind her. It was Yuki's.

"Oh, hey… what is it?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. What are you doing out here?" Yuki leaned against the doorway and tilted his head slightly.

"Just… thinking. I guess."

…

"Can I… sit with you?"

Akane paused before she answered. "If you want."

Yuki sat down on the stairs but had to get awkwardly close to stop the rain from nipping at his side. Akane didn't seem to notice – still staring forward with a rather bored expression.

"**You hate him?"**

"Huh?" Akane's question was sudden and strange, but he knew who she was referring to. "Oh… well… umm."

"**I knew it." **Akane stood up and looked down at Yuki with that same blank expression. "We're done here."

"Akane wai-!" It was too late. Akane stormed off, slamming the door behind her as she went. "I screwed that up…" Yuki looked up at the dark and angry clouds bellowing down.

"Hate isn't the right word… no matter what. I want to protect everyone. Even him."

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

**Fuyuhiko & Peko**

"So that's the gist of our situation. We're kinda fucked."

Peko had her hand on her chin and nodded up and down. "Understood."

"Great." Fuyuhiko breathed a sigh of relief being done with the lengthy explanation of everything that had happened so far. "So is there anything else you need to kn-"

"Why did you kiss me?"

***Blink* *Blink*** "HUH!?" Fuyuhiko was caught entirely off guard and began panicking. "W-W-W-What do you mean!? I-I-It should be obvious right… I mean…"

***Blink* *Blink*** Peko tilted her head to the side and looked at him curiously and pure. No ill-intent or sarcasm behind her words or actions, she genuinely had no idea why he would do that.

Fuyuhiko turned his face away, unable to look at her when he did this. "I… I told you didn't I. I love you."

"I love you too," Peko replied with no hesitation nor embarrassment.

"T-T-Then, it should be obvious!"

"But we have loved each other for many years, have we not? We grew up together."

Fuyuhiko could practically feel his cheeks begin to expand with the amount of blood being pumped into them. He couldn't understand what she was getting at. Was she admitting that she had feelings for him for years?

"P-P-Peko… what are you talking…"

"I loved you since I first met you. Did you not feel the same way about me…?" Peko demeanour changed. An air of sadness now filled her surroundings. But while Peko was now questioning their relationship, Fuyuhiko had finally discerned what she was getting at.

"Oh… umm… Peko. I'm not talking about familial love…"

Peko groaned. She began to rack her brain for the faintest idea of what he was on about until it all clicked in place. She finally realized why he kissed her and the true meaning behind what he had said earlier.

Peko grabbed the edge of the blanket with her fingers and very slowly and carefully covered her head with it. She curled up into a little ball under the sheets, hoping that she would disappear from existence entirely.

"Heh… sorry, I guess you had the wrong idea. I um… _dammit_."

As it turns out, Fuyuhiko's confession of love was a massive misunderstanding.

* * *

**Mahiru, Sonia & Kazuichi**

"We've got'ta do something to pass the time… any ideas?" Kazuichi scratched at the back of his neck while speaking.

"Never have I ever?" Mahiru suggested.

"Na… I did a lot of shit while despair and I'd prefer to not have to recall all of it."

Sonia used her index finger to caress the outer edge of her teacup while thinking. "A game to play… hmm… I know! What about truth or dare?"

"Truth or dare?!" Mahiru scrutinized Kazuichi with squinting eyes. "With this pervert around? I don't know…"

"Hey! At least give me a chance!"

Mahiru chuckled with a devilish grin. "Alright, fine. Truth or dare then. Want to start us off Sonia?"

"Right!" Sonia cheered. She rubbed her hands together with an awfully sinister look. "Kazuichi! Truth or dare?"

"Umm… dare!"

Sonia half giddily, half manically began chuckling to herself. Kazuichi and Mahiru exchanged nervous looks before Sonia finally came up with an idea. Her eyes lighting up as she clapped her hands together.

"Kazuichi! I dare you to run around the building nude!"

Kazuichi recoiled with a curdling scream. "The hell I am! You're crazy!" He saw Mahiru shoot him a dirty look as if Sonia's perversions were his own.

"Tis too late! You have picked dare, and so it must be done! Get the camera ready, Mahiru!" Sonia's cheerful demeanour didn't diminish from Kazuichi's refusal whatsoever.

Mahiru clutched at the polaroid camera that was affixed to her shoulder via a black bandolier. It had seldom left her side since having received it. She raised it to her chest and covered it as if protecting a defenceless animal. "I would never put my baby through something so horrible!"

"Put we must encapsulate Kazuichi's embarrassment for future generations to come!"

Mahiru looked a distraught Kazuichi up and down. He reflexively covered himself as if she saw right through him.

Mahiru watched on in disgust. _**"I would rather die!"**_

Kazuichi clutched at his beanie and dragged it over his face. "Please… pick another dare…"

"Very well!" Once again, Sonia rubbed her hands together manically. "I know! Go skinny dipping!"

"WHY DO ALL THESE DARES INVOLVE ME BEING NUDE!" Kazuichi screamed.

Mahiru couldn't help laughing through a belated sigh. "Come on, Sonia! Stop teasing him!"

Kazuichi inquisitively uncovered his face from the beanie to see Sonia warmly grinning in his direction. "You were kidding around this whole time?!"

Sonia clapped her hands together and bowed. "I'm sorry. I may have gone too far!"

"Jeez… Sonia…" Kazuichi couldn't help but smile. He tried his best to hide it, but both Sonia and Mahiru could both see it emerging beneath a covering hand. He was used to being teased, but in such a friendly manner by Sonia of all people made him really happy. Seeing how far their relationship had come in such a short time was something that brought him a lot of joy.

"I know!" Sonia suddenly called out. "What if you go in your undergarments instead!"

"Stop with the ridiculous dares! I give! Truth! Truth, okay! I pick truth!"

"Excellent!" Sonia said with a pleased smile and a clap of her hands.

Kazuichi then had a horrid realization. 'Had this been her plan along?'

Sonia cleared her throat before speaking; "Kazuichi, what is one thing about yourself that we don't know?"

He was ready to yell in frustration again, but it ended up being a somewhat reasonable request, so he quickly calmed himself down.

"And it better not be boring!" Mahiru clarified with a wave of her pointer finger.

"Yeah, yeah…" Kazuichi took a few moments to think. He chewed at his bottom lip and scratched his chin. It was a bad habit, but he always found himself doing it. He was momentarily distracted with the course feeling beneath his fingers, realizing that he would need to shave again soon. "Oh, man… I can't think of anything."

"_Argh do-"_  
"Take your time." Sonia interrupted Mahiru with a modulated voice. "We have an abundance of time to kill. So ***ahem* **it ain't no thang!"

Kazuichi chuckled through a pleased expression, but it slowly vanished before ultimately fading into darkness. "Actually… I do have something." Kazuichi's usual abrasive manner of speaking was now soft and wobbly. He no longer darted his eyes around nervously. Now only solemnly staring at his teacup.

"I don't think I've ever had a best friend. You guys ever realize that back at Hope's Peak there were only fifteen people in our class?" Kazuichi quickly glanced away from the teacup to see the look of realization on their faces. "Yeah, I'm not surprised. You guys always had a partner. I remember thinking I was so happy to have so many friends with everyone in our class, but then it dawned on me when we had to split off into groups. Groups of two, groups of three, it didn't really matter. I was never someone's first pick. It was hard seeing all these people I really liked only ever picking me as a last resort." Kazuichi chuckled. "Sorry. I guess this kinda came out of nowhere, huh?"

Both Sonia and Mahiru felt guilt envelop them.

"I'm sorry," Mahiru muttered.

"It's fine. I'm not blaming you guys. It's on me for being so unlikeable. I just… I want to be someone's first pick someday, ya know."

The silence engulfed the room for a time before Mahiru got the courage to break it.

"Been holding onto that one for a while, huh?"

"Yeah… sorry about that." Kazuichi sighed before offering a pained smile. "It does feel good to talk about though!"

The girls shared a guilty glance, unsure of how to proceed. Eventually relenting to just continue the game, at least for now.

"Well, you have answered my question, Kazuichi! It seems it is your turn now to be the questioner." Said Sonia.

"Right!" Kazuichi pumped himself back up. "Mahiru, truth or dare!?"

"Umm… I'll go with truth."

"He he heh…" Kazuichi chortled. "Mahiru Koizumi!"

"Ah… y-yeah?"

With an enormous flourish, Kazuichi proclaimed – "Who do you like!?"

"Pfft! What are you, fourteen?! What kind of soft ball question is that?!"

Kazuichi sat back down with a shit-eating grin before replying. "If it's so immature then you should have no trouble answering it, _riiiiight_?

"Oh… well, that's…" Mahiru realized she just backed herself into a corner. She certainly couldn't be honest with her feelings; rules of the game be damned there was no way she was going to admit them here. But the none the less she had to give them some sort of satisfactory answer or else their pestering would never end.

"Come on! You go'ta answer! It's the rules!"

A little light bulb in her head went off and while embarrassing, would save her from her current predicament, at least for the time being. "I don't like anyone right now, so… what about someone I used to like. Is that okay?"

Kazuichi and Sonia's heads vibrated up and down with glee.

Mahiru let loose a long-disgruntled sigh. "Jeez… alright, alright. It **WAS**… _ugh_… Nagito."

Kazuichi reacted in disgust, but Sonia's eyes lit up as she clasped Mahiru's hands in hers. "You have a crush on Nagito!"

Mahiru stole her hands back for herself before yelling back red in the face. "USED TO! Okay! It was before I realized how crazy he was…"

Sonia smirked.

"It was only for like five minutes! Stop looking at me like that!" Mahiru huffed before crossing her arms. "Anyway, it's my turn to ask someone else a question?"

"Right, you are Mahiru!" Sonia cheered before letting out a small giggle. "Let us continue our leisure!"

* * *

**Fuyuhiko & Peko**

"Fuyu-hiko?" Peko whispered from underneath the sheets.

"Yeah?"

"… You… love… me?"

"Yeah, I do." Fuyuhiko tried to chuckle, but his attempt sounded more like a groan than anything else. "I guess you don't feel the same way… I'm such an idiot."

"NO!" Peko rose from the covers and faced him. Tears had begun to gather around the corners of her eyes. "That's not it!"

Fuyuhiko stared back.

"I… I don't know how I feel. This is… this is all new to me."

"Right…" Fuyuhiko solemnly replied. "I suppose I'm being selfish again."

"Can you… give me time. I don't know what my feelings are."

Suddenly Fuyuhiko burst out of his seat, a cocky smile slathered onto his creased face. "No worries. Take your time and figure out how you feel about me. But no matter what happens!" Fuyuhiko snapped his fingers towards her. "You're going to fall in love with me just as hard as I've fallen for you!"

Peko watched on in awe, already she was seeing new sides to Fuyuhiko. One that a tool would have never had the privilege of bearing witness to. Peko covered her face once again and smiled with content. "I hope so…"

"Peko…" Fuyuhiko muttered his bravado now fading. He sat back down in his seat and peeked at Peko behind the covers. "I'm really happy your back. You have no idea how much I missed you."

Peko breathed a sigh of relief and uncovered herself.

"I missed you too."

"So… what do you want to do now?"

A shot of anxiety shot through Peko. She was so busy with the dilemmas of the heart that she had completely forgotten about everything else happening. She put the problem aside and considered what to do from here.

"I would like to take a shower if possible. Then we should meet up with the others."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

**Yuki & Akane**

"Please, at least let me explain myself!" Yuki begged as Akane shoved him out of the pod room. Having found her there only moments ago.

"I don't care what you have to say! So, make like a tree and fuck off, yeah!"

"The hell does that… never mind. Look-!" Akane kept shoving him with force toward the door. "Akane!" She didn't stop. "I'm sorry, okay! Please!" Finally, Akane paused with a long and begrudged sigh. She backed up and leaned against Nekomaru's pod with her arms crossed.

"Make it quick, I really don't want to see you right now."

"I will." Yuki hastily replied. He gulped; it was hard seeing Akane so evidently showing her animosity towards him. Akane (while quick to anger) wasn't one to hold resentment. Yuki realized that his relationship with her was on the brink of collapse, hell, maybe it already had. He underestimated how desperately she wanted to protect Fuyuhiko. But nevertheless, he wasn't going to lie.

"I'm sorry for what I said. I really am. But Akane…"

She squinted her eyes and watched him dubiously.

"I won't take it back. In all honesty… I think Fuyuhiko is a terrible person."

Yuki could see Akane digging her nails into her arm in frustration. "_You piece of…"_ Akane muttered under her breath.

"BUT!" Yuki shouted. "That doesn't mean I don't want to protect him!"

"Huh!?" Akane scoffed.

Yuki took a couple steps towards her while speaking, "While I have my own grievances with Fuyuhiko, and Pekoyama for that matter, they are still members of our class. And I promised I wasn't going to let anyone die. So please, Akane. I know our relationship with him is different, but please believe me when I say I'm just as determined as you to keep him safe."

Akane stared at Yuki for a while as if she was trying to determine his honesty. Her gut was usually right about these things, and it told her to trust him. Even though she desperately wanted to cuss him out and ask him to fuck off, she decided to believe him.

"Fine." Akane sighed. "But you sure have a funny way of showing it."

Yuki felt relief wash over him, he leaned back against the wall now feeling a bit more comfortable with the atmosphere. "Yeah, sorry. I let my emotions get in the way. I was scared for Mahiru."

"Well… I'm scared for Fuyuhiko." Akane quickly replied.

"What?"

"If Peko rejects him. I can't… I can't even… I don't think he would come back from that."

As if on cue. Behind Akane through a window revealing the hallway, he could see Peko and Fuyuhiko. They were walking down the hall together. With a chuckle, Yuki replied, "yeah, I wouldn't worry about it!"

* * *

**Mahiru, Sonia & Kazuichi**

"Time to get my revenge!" Mahiru scanned the room with a devilish grin. "Sonia!"

"Oh! Yes?"

"Truth or dare?"

"I'll pick truth, please!"

Mahiru thought for a time, toing and froing between ideas until her vision landed on Kazuichi. A perverted scheme brewing forth combining her love of photography and Kazuichi's perversions.

"Sonia…" Mahiru's voice was honeyed. "Are you ready?"

"Of course!" She replied enthusiastically.

"Have you ever taken a nude or lewd photo of yourself?"

"_**Argh…" **_A gargle of a sound shot from Sonia's throat. Any response had been chocked up from the shock of such a revealing question. Sonia calmly and collectedly placed the cup of tea she had been sipping, back onto the coffee table. She neatly intertwined her hands together and put them on her lap. Sonia calmly smiled in Mahiru's direction before finally replying to her obscene request.

"Please. Ask a different question." A desperate pleading was visible in Sonia's eyes, but it had the opposite effect from which she was intending. Both Mahiru and Kazuichi were now even more interested in her reply.

"I knew it! How scandalous!" Said Mahiru.

"M-Miss Sonia! I never thought you had it in you…" Kazuichi had reverted to her previous name. His brain having been fried by thoughts of lewd pictures of Sonia being somewhere out there. All his mental faculties now concocting ideas of how he was going to find them.

"I will never be queen! Please forget everything you have heard!"

* * *

**Hajime & Chiaki**

"You… you can't be serious."

"I'm sorry. I know it isn't ideal."

Hajime began ripping at his hair through painfully tight clenched teeth. "The hell you mean isn't ideal! We're fucked!"

Chiaki recoiled a little at his outburst.

"Just how much do we have to go through! How much do the odds have to be stacked against us!"

"I'm sorry…" Chiaki humbly whispered. She didn't know what to say.

"We… we've come so far… we're all going to die."

Hajime hugged his knees and began sobbing. Chiaki winced at seeing her friend in so much pain but wasn't sure what to do.

In the end, she only sat there.

* * *

**Mahiru, Sonia & Kazuichi**

"I am ashamed!" Sonia yelled into the palms of her hands. Her muffled cries were music to Mahiru and Kazuichi's ears, as they now felt on equal footing. As everyone had now been embarrassed thoroughly.

"Now, now, Sonia. Putting aside your erotic habits. It's your turn to pick someone!" Mahiru mocked.

Sonia grumbled in her direction, "so it is. Kazuichi, truth or dare?"

"Ah… screw it, I'll go with truth."

With the clap of her hands, Sonia's sour mood was replaced with her usual sweet self. "I know! Kazuichi…" Sonia darted her eyebrows up and down. "So, what about you!? Do you like anyone?"

Kazuichi shook his head, he presumed she meant someone that wasn't her since everyone knew he liked Sonia for a time. But, surprisingly enough, he did have an answer that wasn't her.

"I guess you mean someone that wasn't you… well… actually yeah, I do."

"_**What!?"  
"Oh, WOW!?"**_

Mahiru and Sonia gasped in unison.

"Kazuichi…" Mahiru muttered. "I'm really flattered but…"

"Hey!" Kazuichi was now red in the face. "Get off your high horse! I'm not talking about you!"

"Wait… if it is not Mahiru nor I. Then is it Akane!?" Sonia questioned.

"No! Stop presuming things! The person I'm talking about… they're… they're…" Kazuichi's voice trailed off into a mumble as he spoke. "They're not awake yet."

Sonia's and Mahiru's eyes lit up as they bounced toward Kazuichi.

"Who is she!?"

"_Do you love her!?"_

"Is it Hiyoko?!"

"_Is it Ibuki?!"_

"Huh!?

"_Huh!?"_

Kazuichi did his best to resist them both, but they were practically breathing down his neck as they bounced closer with each question.

"Wait, Sonia!" Mahiru interrupted their onslaught of questioning. "What if… what if… it's one of the guys!?"

Sonia gasped, "Oh my!"

"AHH! I'll run around the building nude! I'll go skinny dipping! Just please stop! I'm going to die of embarrassment here!" Kazuichi pleaded as he covered his face with his beanie.

Mahiru and Sonia stopped and looked at eachother with big goofy smiles. They then erupted into erroneous laughter. Once Kazuichi calmed down a little, he joined in as well before too long.

"You know what… I'm glad I'm friends with you guys." Mahiru smiled at them both before whispering into Kazuichi's ear. "Don't let it go to your head."

Kazuichi smirked at Mahiru who rolled her eyes before jabbing him in the arm.

This had been the first time since waking up Mahiru had… fun. For a small window, she had forgotten about the painful world that she inhabited and was only a girl goofing around with her friends.

Mahiru could feel her heart swell in her chest.

Knowing that she could still feel this way, even after everything that happened. For the first time in a long time, Mahiru didn't feel so lonely.

"**Good morning, everyone."**

The voice was guttural but still chipper. It was a friendly voice. A rather shy and timid one.

Like a jackhammer cutting through a peaceful afternoon, the semblance of tranquillity Mahiru grasped at was now gone. Visceral and all-encompassing fear, anger and hate now replacing it.

"P-Peko…" Kazuichi stuttered. While he was happy to see that she and Fuyuhiko were okay, he was well aware of the massive elephant in the room that was blocking any hope for a meaningful reunion.

Mahiru was facing away from the pair. She looked down at her hands to see that they were shaking incessantly. This person she once would have trusted with her life had betrayed that trust. They knew the consequences of their actions yet still went through with them.

Slowly…

Very slowly.

Mahiru turned around to face that person.

Her crimson red eyes stood out around her dark and bleak face. Like those of a predator in the dead of night. A dark tattoo of a dragon enveloped her upper chest and shoulders. Scars could be seen running up and down both her arms and legs. A sickly burn ran underneath her jawline. Her hair was a long-wet mess of silver strands wrapping down to her waist.

She looked unwell.

She looked broken.

She looked... nervous.

But there was denying that this person.

Her killer.

Her classmate.

Her… friend.

Was Peko Pekoyama.

* * *

**Fuyuhiko & Peko**

**A few moments earlier…**

"Really! I'm okay, I can walk on my own." Peko protested as Fuyuhiko incessantly tried to act as a crutch.

"Just let me help, okay… least I can do…"

Peko relented to his request allowing him to support some her body weight. Admittedly, she did find it more comfortable walking down the stairs.

She felt a squeeze around her forearm, "listen… Mahiru she's…"

"I know… I can handle it."

Fuyuhiko nodded, but he still felt uneasy. "Listen, no matter what happens. I'm always on your side."

Peko smiled, "it goes without saying."

* * *

"he… hehe… hahahah… HAHAHAHAHAAHA!" Mahiru coiled over with laughter. As she stared at the pair nervously fidgeting in the doorway.

"OF COURSE! Of course, you turn up now! Just as I was starting to have a tiny bit of fun. A sliver of something good in this hell! HAHAHAHAHA!"

…

"_Mahiru… I just want to say…"_

"NOTHING!" Mahiru interrupted Peko with sarcastic delight. "What could you possibly say to me! You killed me! You bashed my brains in with a baseball bat!"

"_I-It… it wasn't personal…"_ Peko whimpered out her bruised throat.

"IT WASN'T PERSONAL!?" Tears began to fill Mahiru's eyes while she continued to mock and laugh. "Oh, so what!? No harm done then!?"

"_I'm not saying tha-"_

"Just shut up!"

…

The room fell silent as everyone glared at Mahiru, waiting to see what she would do next. No one dared say a word - knowing that she was disconsolate.

…

More time passed; it had been minutes, yet Mahiru still stood there. Fists clenched, face darkened and aimed toward the ground. Peko continued to wait patiently in the doorway with Fuyuhiko clutching at her side. The occasional awkward glance being shared between them.

"Peko, Fuyuhiko! There you love birds are! I'm glad to see you're okay!" Akane came down the stairs with Yuki in toe and an enormous smile. As she drew closer, Akane was surprised to see Peko and Fuyuhiko acting rather coldly, still standing as if frozen in the doorway. Akane finally got close enough to pat them on the back, but as she went to do so, she peered into the break room to see the venomous gaze of Mahiru scowling back.

"Oh… Mahiru…" Akane stuttered through slurred speech. She felt so awkward at this intense situation, she accidentally interrupted that she couldn't help it when a small smile curled onto her lips. She tried to hide it, but it made the situation even worse as Mahiru began to smile as well.

She peered around the room to see the concerned eyes of Sonia and Kazuichi peering back. But they weren't fixated on her, their eyes moving between herself and Peko.

"Oh… oh… ha… hahaha… HAHAHAHA! I finally get it! None of you care!" Mahiru pulled her bangs over her forehead and continued to force laughter through her misery. "Just how callous are you all!"

The room remained silent. The only sensation Mahiru could feel apart from misery and rage was the piercing eyes of each person in the room.

"Why!? Why are you all looking at me like that!? Like I'm the crazy one! You're all the crazy ones thinking I should be okay with this!"

Mahiru had enough.

She didn't want to feel this way anymore.

It hurt.

"May I come in, now?" Peko coldly asked.

"..Y…" Mahiru took a step back wholly overcome with awe at her audacity. "No…" She shook her head robotically.

"P-P-Perhaps we can talk about this?" Sonia desperately offered as she stood up with a wobble. "I can prepare some more tea and-"

Peko sighed loudly through her nose. Her expression now bored and blank as usual.

"I have nothing to discuss. I killed in hopes of saving a loved one. The truth of the matter is I value Fuyuhiko's life over yours."

"WHAT THE HELL!? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Mahiru looked back toward Sonia and Kazuichi utterly baffled to find them still staring back with the same piercing eyes. "COME ON! Are you… are you not going to defend me!? Anything! SAY ANYTHING!"

They remained silent – too scared to speak.

"I see…

…

…

…

I really am alone."

"I'm sorry, Koizumi… I truly am." Peko started to saunter forward toward the couches. "But I've had enough of this." Fuyuhiko hesitated but quickly followed suit.

Peko went to pass but found the end of cane blocking her path. "No…" Mahiru wobbled onto her feet and limped over to face Peko. She was so close Peko could feel her rapid breathing puffing down her collar.

"What good will this do?" Peko rolled her eyes.

"Screw you! I… I don't…"

"What? You don't want me around? Too bad, from what I've learned were stuck together until this storm passes. Best to accept the situation for what it is."

Peko went to push passed simply bumping the frail Mahiru aside as if it were nothing.

As Mahiru began to fall to the ground, a thought occurred to her.

'You don't care, do you? You honestly think your actions were justified… you really are a **horrible person**.'

Mahiru caught herself on the corner of the couch just managing to keep herself upright. It was her. Only her. She was the only sane person on this island. The only person who knew right from wrong. The only person to see a killer and think they should pay for being one. She should pay. She should pay. She should pay. She should pay. She has to pay.

Mahiru wound back her cane as far she could, as if about to strike a pitch. Then, with all her might, swung at Peko's head.

"**I SAID NO!" **Mahiru screamed at the top of her lungs.

The end of the maple wood cane hit Peko on the left cheekbone. Her head went spinning from the impact and strained the already sore and swollen muscles in her neck. Completely dazed from the sudden strike, Peko fell to the hard lino floor without any brace. Her head taking a secondary hit as it cracked against the floor. Now collapsed - everyone watched on in horror as Peko didn't move a muscle.

Mahiru's frenzy dissipated as she heard Peko's skull crack against the hard floor.

"I-I-I-I-I… I didn't mean to… I-I didn't-"

It was too late to beg.

Fuyuhiko raced to Peko's side and began screaming her name, "PEKO! PEKO!"

She didn't respond.

Watching Peko now seemingly unconscious on the floor, Fuyuhiko felt a terrifyingly familiar sensation crawl up his spine. That same anger and sadness soon filled him, the same one he felt back in the second trail of the killing game. As he watched her die.

But this time, it wasn't some godlike teddy bear at fault. It was the fragile and weak red head trembling in fear. Unlike Monokuma, he could hurt her.

Fuyuhiko charged.

The whole room – Kazuichi, Sonia, Akane and Yuki all raced to stop him, but it was too late. None of them were close enough. Fortunately, they misinterpreted his intentions.

Fuyuhiko grabbed Mahiru by the collar shoving his face into hers.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! To think I genuinely felt bad for you! It's clear that when push comes to shove you resort to violence just like the rest of us! Go fuck yourself you, damn hypocrite! What happened to two wrongs to make a right, huh!?" Fuyuhiko shoved her back on the floor. "I'm done apologizing to you. It's clear now that if you lived for longer in the killing game… **you would have been a killer too."**

With his rant over, he paid no more attention to Mahiru and raced back to Peko's side.

"No… but I… I..." Mahiru clutched at her head. It felt as if her brain was tearing itself in two.

"M-Mahiru…" She flinched, feeling the sudden embrace of Yuki's hand on her shoulder. "Are you alri-"

"GET OFF ME!" The red head slapped his hand away and backed up. She felt the textured wood of her cane under her hand. She swiftly grabbed it and went running away.

Yuki called out as she began to hastily limp through the doorway, "Wait! Mahiru!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

No one dared give chase. The desperate pleading in her voice begged them not to, and they reluctantly obliged.

'I have to get away! I HAVE TO GET AWAY! I've got to hide…. I want to disappear! Please… I have to go…'

* * *

**Hajime**

Hajime was still hiding under the desk. Chiaki had disappeared, he asked her too. He wanted to be alone. For the past half hour now, his vision was fixed on the slight variations of groovings in the wood. He was still thinking about everything she had told him and couldn't comprehend the consequences of it.

Hajime's brooding introspection was interrupted by the sound of a lumbering limp paired with sobbing.

He peered his head over the top of the desk to see Mahiru enter the office space and slam the door behind her.

"Mahiru? What are you doing here?"

She flinched suddenly hearing someone in the room with her. She shot him a defeated look before collapsing onto the ground, exhausted.

"Hey! What's wrong!?" Hajime exited the desk and scrambled toward her. As he got close, Mahiru leapt at him with open arms and bowled him over before sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.

* * *

**Peko**

"Peko!? Peko!? PEKO?!"

She could hear various voices calling her name.

Slowly she opened her eyes to see various faces she recognized peering at her expectantly.

"Wha-?" Before Peko could begin to question what just happened, she felt an incredible ache on the side of her face. She clutched at her cheekbone. It was hot and squishy; it had already begun to swell.

"Oh, thank god!" She heard Fuyuhiko sigh with relief before feeling his embrace around her.

"How are you feeling?" Yuki asked as he leant down to give her a better look.

She couldn't answer. She was having the worst headache of her life, and before she even knew it was happening, she began to dribble vomit.

"I knew it, she has a concussion. Can someone find Hajime, he has medical expertise, right?"

She heard a voice call out but paid no attention to who it was. Furthermore, it was hard to even listen to them with the obnoxiously loud ringing in her ears.

She felt a churning in her stomach again and went to push Fuyuhiko away, but he instead circled around her and helped to pull her hair back.

"Someone, get a bucket or something!" He rubbed her on the back and whispered in her ear, "just hang in there, okay?"

* * *

**Mahiru & Hajime**

She had calmed down somewhat, now only lightly sobbing between breaths.

'She must have had a bad memory…' thought Hajime.

He didn't know any of the details, nor did he need to. She needed a friend right now, and he was more than happy to be that friend.

"Hey… come with me." He helped Mahiru up onto her feet and began to carefully lead her around to the desk he had been hiding underneath. They both squeezed into the space and faced each other. Hajime could see her confusion as to why he brought her here.

"Hopefully you're not claustrophobic…" Hajime forced a chuckle. "I like it in small spaces like this. It makes me feel… safe." Hajime hugged at his knees, trying to make himself as small and insignificant as possible, and Mahiru did the same.

Mahiru looked around this little world of his that she was invited to be a part of. Surrounded on three sides by grooved wood with the fourth being the entrance to this box. Mahiru looked out the open side to see that there was only a small gap, maybe a meter wide before the outer wall of the building. She could only just manage to peer out the window at the furious storm outside and the rain pattering against the glass.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hajime whispered.

…

"Why do you like this place? You know… under the desk?" Mahiru asked.

Hajime wistfully watched as rain droplets glided down the windowpane. It looked as if he was entranced by them.

"My life before this miserable…" Hajime finally admitted. "Would you believe me if I said it's even worse than it is now?"

Mahiru shook her head unamused.

"No, you're right, it probably wasn't. It was peaceful and safe, at least."

Hajime leaned his head back against the wood before closing his eyes and stretching out his legs.

"I'm sorry you probably have no idea why I brought that up. It just seems obvious to me. I like it under here because I feel insignificant. To be perfectly honest as awful as it was, I sometimes crave my old life back. Just being another face in the crowd, no one wanting you dead, no one having expectations of you, just…

**Alone.**

"Alone? You liked being alone?" Mahiru asked with a craving inquisitiveness.

"No. I hated it, more than anything. But at least when I'm alone… **I don't have to watch anybody die."**

Mahiru felt a new round of tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Me too. I hate being alone more than anything… _yet, look at me now." _Mahiru muttered the last bit as quietly as she could, but Hajime still heard her.

"Oh, man!" Hajime broke his sombre tone and began to scratch at the back of his head with a smile. "There, I go again. I just kept talking without even realizing it. You really are easy to talk to, Mahiru."

She couldn't help but smile at his comment.

'Wait… I'm smiling? I'm happy? I've talked to Hajime for only a few seconds and yet even after everything that happened, he can still make me smile?'

…

"Hajime?" He could hear the desperation she was attempting to hide behind a façade of fake smiles. "What did you do about it? The loneliness?"

"The truth is; I didn't. I was a lonely, hateful person, through and through. The only thing driving me was the desire to be better was to be special. When I think back to who I used to be – the Hajime Hinata without Izuru Kamukura, without everything I've been through, all you guys. I can't but feel… sorry for him. The old me, he's… _**hollow**_."

Once he finished speaking Hajime opened his eyes to face and smile toward Mahiru. But when he did, he saw that streams of tears were streaking down her face.

"Are you…" Mahiru's voice was high pitch and meek. Hajime could tell she was about to burst into tears. "Are you… still… lonely? How did you fix it?"

"Well… I have you guys now! How else do you conquer loneliness but with friends?" Hajime chuckled.

Mahiru did her best to frantically wipe away the onset of tears, but it was of no use. She was crying again.

"Mahiru, are you lonely?"

She nodded.

"But why? You have all of us?"

She shook her head.

"Did… did something happen?"

She nodded as she replied, "yeah.."

"You can tell me. What's wrong?"

She had one hand holding her knees together and the other pulling at her hair. Hajime had never seen her so distressed. "What would you do if everyone hated me?"

"What?"

"I messed up… I messed up real bad." Mahiru tugged at her hair even harder and tried to hide behind her knees as much as she possibly could.

"What did y-" Hajime stopped himself mid-sentence as he saw her pleading eyes to not ask that question.

"Okay, what would I do if everyone hated you?... Hmm… well, actually, that's a pretty easy question. I would still be your friend."

Mahiru paused her grieving, having been replaced with shock. "But I… I did something horrible."

"And it was a mistake, right?" Hajime smiled so warmly Mahiru could feel her heart begin to get warmer. "We all make mistakes."

Mahiru bit at her bottom lip but quit tugging at her hair. "You don't understand. Once you learn what I did… you might hate me too."

Hajime chuckled before apologizing profusely for doing so, "sorry! Sorry! I couldn't help it. It's just… it's weird even considering feeling that way about you."

Hajime smirked which pissed her off a little.

"Remember what I said about Sonia? It doesn't matter to me what she did as despair because I know, deep down, she's a good person. Same as you Mahiru. I still don't know what happened, but I'm guessing, as you said: You messed up real bad. Still, though, I would never hate you for it. Because even if I haven't known you for too long, I can tell; you're a good person. So, I could never hate you."

This warmth.

Mahiru couldn't understand this overwhelming warmth she could feel radiating around her. She had never felt so warm before.

Hajime smiled,

"so, don't worry about it. No matter what Mahiru…

**You'll never be lonely again.**

I'll always be your friend.

I mean, who else is this easy to talk to?"

Mahiru's eyes sparkled and glittered in the limited light. The warmth inside her heart had been ignited. She never thought she would be **lucky** enough to feel it. This burning hot passion.

And it was all because of him.

This heat.

This light.

This… **sunshine**.

Before Hajime could react, he felt the press of Mahiru's lips against his.

* * *

**Yuki & Akane**

Their conversation was curt and serious. Neither having the energy nor patience for saying anything less than what they were thinking. Akane pulled Yuki aside so Fuyuhiko and Peko couldn't hear them and began.

"So, she's crazy - at least we know that now."

"No. This is a symptom of the neglect she received when she woke up. If everyone listened to me and…"

"It doesn't matter."

Yuki let out a long and heavy sigh.

"You're right. It doesn't. So, let's just keep doing what we've been doing, okay? You take care of Fuyuhiko, and I'll look after Mahiru."

"Right."

"Okay."

They went to separate but hesitated as they looked back at each other and realized that they really were on the same side. While their loyalties and ideologies clashed, it was clear that at the end of the day, they wanted the same thing.

For everyone to be okay.

Yuki gave a slight nod, and Akane returned in kind before they separated for good.

* * *

**Sonia & Kazuichi**

Together, they sat in the hallway to give the others some space – or rather, that was their excuse at least. The truth was neither of them could stand seeing Peko in that state when neither of them did anything to stop it. Their eyes were glued to the ever-enclosing walls of the building.

"Damnit! I should have done something!" Kazuichi softly headbutted the wall he was leaning on.

Sonia curled a lock of hair around her finger before watching it spring back into place as she let it go. "We have truly failed our friends…"

Their lamenting continued until suddenly...

"NO! You know what!" Kazuichi jumped up and slapped himself way too hard on the cheek.

"K-K-Kazuichi! Are you alright!?"

Sonia could see him squinting his eyes and gritting his teeth through a forced smile, "y-yeah, totally fine…" She could have sworn that smoke was eradiating of his bright red cheek.

"What on earth possessed you to do that?"

"Because! We're pathetic, that's why!" Kazuichi wagged his finger at Sonia with a hand on his hip. Which was an amusing sight indeed. "We won't accomplish anything just sitting here!"

Sonia spun to her feet, "you're right! This is no time to feel sorry for ourselves! We could not be there for our friends before, but we may be able to help now!" Sonia wound back her fist and hit the wall. "I am ashamed! Kazuichi, give me a good slap as well!"

"W-What?! I'm not going to slap you, Sonia!"

"Do it you little pussy!"

"**P-P-Pussy!?"**

The sliding door to the break room rolling open interrupted their conversation. Akane poked her head out with a bemused smirk. "Kazuichi… That's really not how you ask for something like that…"

"EH! I wasn't… no! You have the wrong idea… I!"

"Listen!" Akane smacked the door with the palm of her hand. "You can beg for lewd favours later, for now, could one of you find Hajime and tell him what happened. We want to get him to check on Peko since he's got all that medical mumbo jumbo jammed into his noggin."

Sonia grabbed Kazuichi's hand and got them both to salute. "We're on it!"

* * *

**Mahiru & Hajime**

"Hajime…" She could feel the words beginning to get caught in her throat. She realized she had to blurt them out now before she started thinking this through. "I love you."

All the blood in Hajime's face vanished as he began to go as pale as a ghost. His expression of hard-fought joy being replaced for confusion and concern. He sat there, staring back, speechless.

"Please Hajime, I know I don't deserve you. I know how awful and mean and bossy I can sometimes be but I… I really really like you! So please will you-"

"**Hajime!?"**

Sonia's high-pitch voice pierced the atmosphere and tore it into shreds. "Are you in here? We require your assistance!"

Mahiru could feel herself start to break apart further.

'No… please, not now. If he just says yes, everything will be okay. I'll… be okay. Please, not yet.'

She reached out to him, her hand trembling as she did so.

"Mahiru…" Hajime uttered through a tight throat. **"I'm sorry."**

With those departing words, he left. Leaving Mahiru grasping at nothing but thin air.

…

"Hey… what's up?"

"_Oh, Hajime! This is where you ran off too! What were you doing in here?"_

"Oh… nothing, just thinking."

"_I see... Oh my! I am getting distracted. Something terrible has happened! Mahiru and Peko got in a fight! We are worried Peko may have a concussion; can you please check on her?"_

"A fight!?... What happened? Nevermind, tell me on the way. Where is she?"

"_In the break room, she has been vomiting for a few minutes now."_

…

Mahiru heard the door slide shut.

Once again, she was alone.

Her one and only chance of escape from this torment had now left. Leaving her with nothing but regrets.

'He'll talk to Sonia… he'll learn what I did and even if he doesn't hate me… he'll never love me back. It's over. I really am pathetic.'

Hajime's isolated box now felt constricting rather than freeing. Mahiru crawled out to see the inky blackness of the storm raging outside. Furious waves crashing into eachother. Palm trees struggling to keep aground as others succumbed to the winds to take flight before plunging back into the dirt and sand.

Mahiru stood alone, silhouetted around this carnage of paradise.

'**Not even this place is safe, huh…'**

She collapsed to her knees. No longer having the strength nor the will to keep standing. The cruel reality of her situation had finally sunk in. She was alone in the world, and there was no escape. Mahiru's mind began to shut down, not being able to take her isolation and pain anymore. She could feel the guilt gnawing away at her.

'**There isn't… there isn't a single person left on earth who cares about me…**

**I mean.**

**If that's the case.**

**Then what's the point in living anymore?'**

The guilt, the pain, the loneliness.

Before she knew it…

It manifested.

"**You really screwed everything up, didn't you?"**

That voice… she recognized that voice. It was coming from her right side.

Sato was standing there with an appalled expression as she scowled down at her.

_"I know, right! How pathetic!"_

The second voice, she recognized it as well. It was coming from her left side.

Hiyoko stood there, snickering at her suffering.

"**How many people have to get hurt because of your self-righteous, sanctimonious bullshit, huh!?"**

_"But wait, Sato! If she isn't always doing what she considers to be the morally right thing, she won't get those fuzzy wuzzys in her belly that makes her feel better about herself."_

"**Really? That's all that is? Wow, you really are pathetic."**

"Me… wanting to be a good person isn't wrong…"

_"Oh, wow! It speaks!"_

**"Oh yeah! Well, I think you're a far cry away from being a good person at this point!"**

"Why? WHY ARE YOU TWO BEING SO MEAN TO ME!"

The pair remained silent for a time until they suddenly charged Mahiru. Sato grabbing her right arm and tugging at it with all her might and Hiyoko doing the same with her left. Mahiru could feel herself be torn apart further.

"**I'm dead because of your obsession with justice!"**

"_You left me to die! All so you could tell some Yakuza off about being a bad person! What kind of moron are you!?"_

"NO! NO!  
I just wanted to help!  
I wanted to do the right thing!  
I'm not responsible!  
I'm not!"

"**Not responsible!"**

Sato yanked at her arm harder. The skin around Mahiru's wrist beginning to peel under the friction.

**"If it weren't for your constant talk about doing the right thing, I would have never killed that girl! You drove me to do it! You're the real murderer here!"**

"SHUT UP!  
I'M NOT!  
I'M A GOOD PERSON!  
I AM!"

"_Look at me, Mahiru…"_

She refused.

_"I SAID, LOOK AT ME!"_

Hiyoko ripped at Mahiru's arm harder and harder until she finally caved in and did as she wished.

She looked at her, but it wasn't the friend she once knew. This entity changed its forms multiple times per second. Each one depicted Hiyoko in various stages of death. Drowned, stabbed, shot, poisoned among many, many more.

"_You can't even fabricate what I look like because you're too scared to learn how I was killed! You're so selfish that you refuse to feel a fraction of the pain I felt! I suffered because of your own narcissistic obsession with morals! You left me behind! If you weren't such a selfish bitch, I might have survived!"_

"NO! YOU'RE WRONG!

YOU'RE WRONG!

YOU'RE WRONG!

YOU'RE WRONG!

YOU'RE WRONG!

YOU'RE WRONG!

YOU'RE WRONG!"

The muscle tissue in her arms began to give way. Mahiru was getting closer and closer to being torn apart as their pulling wouldn't relent.

"That's all wrong!

That was other people!

I never actually did those things!

I never –"

"**I never physically hurt you. Is that what you were about to say?"**

The sound of her shrewd voice rang in Mahiru's ears and bounced around her head.

"Well, I suppose you're right. You of all people should know that even if you're the one to physically hurt a person that's, it's your own fault."

…

"But then again blaming it on someone else for influencing you. **As if you were a puppet being controlled on strings."**

Her ponytails slowly drifted into her field of vision from above. The obnoxious rose-scented perfume, the all-encompassing feeling of hopelessness when she was around.

It was all so familiar.

With an extravagant flip off the desk, she landed just a few feet between Mahiru and wall of glass. "Well, that would be…"

…

In a blink of an eye she spun around, her arms layered over eachother and fingers pointed in the shape of horns. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth and to the side as she shouted; **"…A CONVIENT TRUTH! NOW WOULDN'T IT!"**

Every fibre in Mahiru's being screamed, begged, pleaded to run. But she couldn't, Hiyoko and Sato still holding her in place.

"Enoshima! NO, YOU'RE DEAD YOU CAN'T HURT ME! YOU CAN'T YOU CAN'T YOU CAN'T!"

Junko spun around, her hair now in a ponytail, her posture straightened, and glasses rested on the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, my dear. You say that yet consider your current predicament with these individuals who you had killed. It seems even though they are figments of your imagination, they seem to be hurting you just fine."

Junko leant down and grabbed Mahiru's chin – squishing her cheeks together by doing so.

"Now my dear, I'm afraid this is a business call although it is good to see you again."

Mahiru couldn't move. Whether through fear, fatigue or something else she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she couldn't help but stare into her eyes.

"Now shall we discuss the flaws in your philosophy when it comes to conducting yourself?"

Suddenly Junko let go, spinning around once again. Her hair back in twintails she stared out the window.

**The rain grew louder.**

"Actually, screw it. That sounds really boring, and even in the afterlife, I'm way too busy to spend so much time with someone as pathetic as you. So how about we just hurry this along, yeah?"

"S-S-S-Screw you!"

"Oh wow, still got some fight left in you. At least that will make it a bit more fun. Well, I guess I just have to spell it out for you. That shouldn't be too hard."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"The contradiction, my dear…" She faced Mahiru again but hid half her face behind her right hand. "Which one is it going to be? Is the assassin responsible for the death, or the one who ordered it?"

"How does that-"

Mahiru gasped.

**The rain grew even louder.**

"It seems you have already figured out what I'm getting at but let me clarify something. **This convenient truth** your classmate Kamukura spoke of… or is it Hinata? … I really can't tell the difference at this point, but I digress.  
He spoke of your class being manipulated by me in such a way that he alluded it to being like **puppets on a string**. Yet you didn't believe him. So, tell me, are you responsible for the hundreds of deaths that you personally claimed while despair?"

Mahiru couldn't speak. She was beginning to choke on the air itself. The tugging of Hiyoko and Sato continued.

Suddenly Junko now acted all cutesy. She leaned in close and whispered into her ear. "Do you want me to spoil it for you!? It doesn't matter what you answer is because either way **you've killed people**!"

**The rain grew louder.**

"Let's say you pick answer A: 'Well gee golly Miss Enoshima I don't think I'm really responsible for all those deaths as despair!' Well if that's the case, then you do believe in **the convenient truth**. That it's not the assassin per se that killed the person but the person who ordered it. Or in your case, caused the deaths – albeit unintentionally. Which means… YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR SAIONJI AND SATO'S DEATHS!"

Abyss like eyes.

Intoxicating perfume.

**The rain was now deafening.**

Junko now had little mushrooms sprouting from her scalp. She played with one of her twin tails while speaking. "Man… that's a real bummer. No wonder they hate you so much. But the other option is even worse. If you pick option B; and you don't believe in **the convenient truth**. Then hundreds upon hundreds of innocent lives blood is on your hands. On the bright side at least you're not responsible for Saionji's and Sato's deaths. Instead, the culprits being Peko and Fuyuhiko, respectively."

Now Junko adorned a crown with an enormous smile on her face.

"Well, then! TO BE OR NOT TO BE! That is the question! Are you responsible for your friends' deaths or…"

Mahiru had finally realized why the rain was so loud. It no longer rained water droplets but corpses. They poured from the sky, hundreds and hundreds of them. Each one she recognized as a victim she killed as despair.

"OR… ARE YOU A MASS MURDERING PSYCHOPATH! AHAHAAHAHAHA!"

Junko went back to her 'normal' self. Kneeling and grabbing Mahiru by the jaw once again.

"Let's not forget about your little outburst before in the breakroom either. You proved to everyone, including yourself that you're just as bad as the people you denounce. Admit it, you're a horrible person. You're a killer. And now… You're all alone in the world. They won't forgive you for what you've done and the one person who may have been willing to, you drove away with your advances. You said yourself, there isn't a single person on earth who cares about you now.

**You are alone."**

Mahiru's body gave way as Hiyoko and Sato finally ripped her in half.

* * *

'Where… where am I?

It's black.

I can't see anything.

But I can hear…

Someone…

Laughing?

Who is it?

Wait…

No…

I know where I am.

I'm still under the desk.

I'm still in this little insignificant world with my eyes shut.

And the one laughing

Is me.'


	17. Happy Birthday

**Hajime couldn't sleep.**

He lifelessly stared at the rotation of the ceiling fan circulating air in the otherwise stagnant room. He rolled over to his side, realizing that it wasn't helping him fall asleep. He didn't think it possible after learning the meaning behind Kamukura's threats. All his friends' lives were in danger, even more than before, and he was lying there. Unable to speak up, too scared to admit just how awfully the odds were stacked against them. How could he? After everything that had happened, they needed hope. Even if it was just a little.

'Although…' Hajime sat up in bed and placed his back against the wall. 'If I don't say anything, it might make things worse.'

Hope or logic.

That was the decision he had to make.

While logic might pull through any other day, hope had certainly run thin, and he couldn't help but panic over the consequences if it were to run out.

The genuine possibility that someone might give up and turn back into despair was something that crossed Hajime's mind often. It had happened to him briefly, so he thought it plausible that it could occur to someone else.

Putting aside his concerns about Kamukura, he had added pressure from Mahiru. Not only was he worried about her, (especially after barricading herself in the office and refusing to come out), but she said that she loved him. He had no idea what to make of that.

What was he meant to say when he saw her again?

Then, of course, there was Peko. She took a pretty bad hit to the head and most likely had a concussion, although he couldn't say for sure – it was almost guaranteed as all the tell-tale signs were there. Vomiting, blurry vision and memory loss of the event, among others.

The blurred vision was salt in the wound to Peko's already poor eyesight. They didn't have any eyeglasses and undoubtedly none in her prescription so she would have been considered legally blind in her state. Although with how much Fuyuhiko cares about her, he felt his worry best reserved elsewhere.

'What the hell am I doing!? I need to sleep!' Hajime slapped himself on the cheeks and did his best to clear his mind. 'In the end, there's no point worrying about it. I'll just have to hope we get luck…y…'

There's that word again, he hadn't thought about it for a while.

'Am I lucky?... No, it can't be. There's just no way. Not after all the terrible things that have happened. But, then again… Nagito is lucky, and plenty of horrible things have happened to him… or even… because of him.'

With a groan Hajime flopped his way out of bed and headed for the hallway, taking a small amount of solace in accepting that he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep any time soon.

* * *

**Kazuichi couldn't sleep. **

With a sigh, he looked across the room to the opposite wall which hung a calendar which read August - with fifteen of the days crossed out. He felt like that date meant something but couldn't put his finger on what.

Now sitting up he timidly pulled back the corner of a nearby curtain, only letting through a sliver of moonlight to see the pounding of rain on the glass hadn't ceased. Usually, the rain was comforting, but in the context of being in the middle of a tropical hurricane, it was anything but. He released the curtain, letting it fall back into place, but he could still hear it clearly… the rain, the howling wind, the crashing waves, **growling thunder**, they weren't going away any time soon.

But the storm wasn't the only thing on his mind.

Mahiru.

The look in her eyes when she hit Peko. He couldn't get it out of his head. So full of hate, rage and misery. Equally terrifying as it was sad. It hurt just to think about Mahiru with that much turmoil boiling inside her. But what bothered him even more, was a simple thought: 'I wonder how many people see me that way?'

He realized there was no point in lying in bed anymore. He was wide awake, and he needed to clear his head. Kazuichi went to get out of bed when he heard a strange sound from above him. It was only for a split second, but it sounded like something… cracked. Maybe shattered. He wasn't sure.

Dismissing it as nothing more than his imagination he got out of bed and looked around at all the adjacent beds. Everyone but Fuyuhiko and Peko was sleeping in the bay window room while Mahiru hadn't left the office upstairs. Curiously, Hajime was missing from his bed.

Deciding he couldn't sleep, he decided to make it his mission to go find him.

* * *

**Fuyuhiko was asleep.**

But he was being stirred awake to the metallic sound of clinking cutlery.

He paid it no heed and started to doze off again until…

"_Dang it_… Oh no… where is it?"

_*CRASH*  
*SMACK*  
__***BANG***_

"W-What the hell?" Fuyuhiko was up now. He couldn't see anything; the room was pitch black. "P-Peko, is that you? I'm turning the light on."

"Wait! Please, I'm almost done."

"The hell…" Fuyuhiko sat up and rubbed his eyes. They tried to adjust to the limited light, but it was near pitch black, at best he could make out the silhouette of the blinds on the far wall.

"Okay," Peko muttered as she circled the couch around to where Fuyuhiko was sitting and knelt in front of him.

"Fuyuhiko…"

"Ah, yeah?"

The flicker of a small flame came into view illuminating Peko's smiling face. She was holding a golden-wrapped chocolate bar and a lighter.

"**Happy Birthday."**

Fuyuhiko sighed and shook his head. "You got 'a be kidding me."

"I'm sorry. I know it's not much. It's nothing compared to the elaborate parties you used to have at home but…" Peko's grip on the chocolate bar tightened, the contents cracking slightly under the pressure. "I wanted to do something for you. Even if it's a little silly…"

With one hand Fuyuhiko snuffed out the lighter and with his other wrapped it around the back of Peko's neck. He brought her in as close as he could and placed her chin on his shoulder.

"You're such a dork, you know that?"

Peko's arms wrapped around him as she buried her face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I can't do more. I don't even have a real gift."

"You kidding me? I got you back, that's the best damn gift I could ever receive."

Peko sighed with a smile, "don't be silly."

Fuyuhiko let her go and took the chocolate bar for himself. He tapped it against his thumb before opening it, it smelt pretty good, milk chocolate.

"Where did you even get this?"

"Well I couldn't find ingredients to make a cake, nor candles, so I improvised and found these."

Peko reignited the lighter, illuminating the area once again. The warm orange glow of the flame was a contrast to the dark blue moonlight filtering through the blinds.

"Make a wish," Peko whispered.

Fuyuhiko shook his head with a chuckle, "come on now, isn't that kind of childish?"

"Oh…"

Fuyuhiko could tell she was disappointed so with a begrudging deep breath in, he thought of his wish and blew on the flame, snuffing it out.

"What did you wish for?"

"It won't come true if I tell you."

Peko giggled, "now who's the one being childish?"

Fuyuhiko relaxed into the cushions before snapping the bar in two. He offered it to Peko but realized she wouldn't be able to see him in the dark. So, he grabbed her hand and placed the chocolate in the palm of it.

"This can't be it…" Peko muttered.

"What?"

"This pathetic excuse of a gift… please Fuyuhiko, what do you want? Please allow me to assist you in some way!"

"Jeez Peko… you really are hopeless."

Fuyuhiko swaggered to the window and pulled the blinds open. The subtle hue of the moons' glow greeted him and enveloped the room, chasing the worst of the darkness to the shadows. Now able to see, Fuyuhiko looked on at the storm raging around them in odd comfort. He turned back around to see Peko blankly staring back. Although, it wasn't so much as she was looking at him then rather through him and he quickly realized why that was.

"You can't see very well, can you?"

Peko shook her head, "no. Without my glasses, I'm close to blind, and this concussion has made things worse. I… I can't really see you."

Fuyuhiko solemnly nodded.

"My head feels scrambled, I can't see, I get dizzy when I stand and even thinking feels like it's harder than it used to be. I'm sorry… I can't believe Koizumi got the better of me like that."

Peko clenched her teeth and fists.

"I won't let it happen again. I won't let her hurt you."

Fuyuhiko didn't reply. He wasn't sure what to say, but Peko's determination had the opposite effect than she intended, with him now feeling more on edge.

"Alright, I've got it. There are two things you can do for me that would really help."

The corners of Peko's mouth raised ever so slightly, "yes?"

Fuyuhiko walked back over to kneel before her. He grabbed Peko's left hand with both of his and caressed her knuckles with his thumbs. He stared at her for a time, seeing her vision darting around as it desperately tried to focus on him to no avail.

"I need your help. I want to keep everyone safe. But I… I don't know if I can do it alone. Can you help me?"

Peko could feel his hands shaking as he held hers. Fear wasn't an emotion Fuyuhiko often portrayed, if ever. But it seemed the pressure of being responsible for everyone's safety had gotten to him. Peko was quick to reply with a somewhat brittle smile.

"Of course, I will."

She had to be honest with herself, and the truth was she didn't care. She didn't care about anyone but him, she had made that apparent with Mahiru, but the same sentiment was extended to everyone else as well.

"_The truth of the matter is I value Fuyuhiko's life over yours."_

Although much had changed, Peko's goal was still the same as it had always been. Fuyuhiko's happiness. Fortunately for the rest of the class, he was rather fond of them, so that meant they were lucky enough to be under her protection as well. At least… as long as their safety didn't conflict with his.

"What was the second thing?"

Fuyuhiko chuckled, "it's something you struggle with, so it might be asking a bit much."

"No! I can do it! Please, give me the task!"

Fuyuhiko shot back a snide smile as without realizing it, Peko had become ensnared in his carefully laid out trap.

"Great, then I want you to get some rest. That's what I really want."

Peko pouted, unamused by his antics.

"Hey!" Fuyuhiko's grin grew larger. "You said you would! Look, you're still recovering from having just woken up, and you got a concussion. So… sleep. Please…"

Fuyuhiko, still holding her hands, directed her to lie down on the couch she was sitting on. He grabbed a loose blanket from the opposite end and tucked her in like a doting parent.

Right away, Peko began to feel the drowsiness take hold. Her eyelids struggled to keep open as she watched Fuyuhiko beam down, happy that she was listening to him.

"D…d…did you have a good birthday?" Peko raspily whispered as she began to close her eyes.

"I did, thanks to you..."

Already he could see Peko's breathing change and face soften as she near instantaneously fell asleep. It seemed she had been fighting off fatigue this whole time and all just so he could have a slightly better birthday.

"You really are a dork."

* * *

**Hajime**

"**So that dream you had… as you might have guessed… Kamukura was behind it, and he's not happy."**

This thought ran through Hajime's head over and over again like a broken record as he gazed toward the night sky. His arms leaned against a metal pole affixed to the edging of the hallways' window. With a heavy sigh, he outstretched his arms.

"Yo, Hajime!" Behind him, Kazuichi was approaching with a grin. "You still up?"

"Yeah, can't sleep. What about you?"

"Same. I'm worried about… well, fuck, everything."

"Yeah…"

They both turned when the sound of Akane's snoring rang through the halls. Realizing that their conversation was taking place just outside the room everyone was sleeping in, they decided to move it downstairs.

Kazuichi leads the way as he began to lumber done the stairs. But just as Hajime went to follow, he felt a cold embrace crawl up his spine. Panicked, he turned on the ball of his heel to see if there was something there, but only shadows greeted him.

"Hajime? You good?" Kazuichi asked as he paused on the stairwell.

"Ah, yeah… it just feels like… someone's watching me."

"The hell are you talking about? Who would be watching us?" Kazuichi clicked his tongue and stamped his foot. "Come on, let's go."

"Yeah, okay…" Hajime replied before briskly following.

…

They continued down the stairs and around the corner to find themselves face to face with Fuyuhiko.

"Gah!" Kazuichi let loose a garbled cry, "Fuyuhiko? What are you doing up?"

"Could ask you the same question," he scowled.

"We couldn't sleep so we were coming downstairs to…" He looked toward Hajime for an answer, but he shrugged his shoulders, "talk, I guess…"

"Can't sleep, huh? Can't blame you… I was coming upstairs to check on you all, but it seems like you're okay. Mind if I join you guys?"

"Sure!" Kazuichi's face lit up as he led the charge to the first floor. The furthest point away from anyone sleeping.

…

The first floor was rather barren with a reception desk standing opposed to the front door. The stairwell going up was to the right of the counter with a small hallway to the left; which led to the basement, bathrooms, utility closet and a second exit.

The three all sat on or around the reception desk. Kazuichi claimed a rolling chair that was behind it, while Fuyuhiko and Hajime sat on the counter with their legs dangling off the edge.

"How's Peko doing?" Kazuichi asked as he braced his feet against the wall before flinging himself across the room on the rolling chair. His childish actions made the question seem disingenuous, but Fuyuhiko knew that wasn't his intention.

"She's okay. Still recovering. She can't see that good and is suffering from some real bad headaches." Fuyuhiko sighed as he scratched at his neck. "She'll be alright but… still though… I'm worried about her."

Hajime punched his shoulder and smiled. "Hey, she's strong. She could beat all three of us up in a fight no problem. Some little headache ain't got nothing on her."

Fuyuhiko chuckled, "yeah. You're right."

Kazuichi continued to roll from one side of the room to the other, seemingly unbothered by their rather sombre setting and mood. But his amusing behaviour came to an abrupt halt when he heard Fuyuhiko speak.

"Screw it, I'll ask. How's Koizumi doing?"

Near startled by Kazuichi's sudden halt, Fuyuhiko was now weary. But as Kazuichi reduced himself into a slumber, he realized his weariness was unwarranted.

"She barred herself into the office on the fourth floor. She hasn't left since." Kazuichi groaned.

Fuyuhiko replied with a dismissive "Hmph…" before attempting to change the topic. "So, anything else happen that I should know about?"

"I talked to her and I uh… don't know if I should be telling you this but I really have no idea what to do about it…"

Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko shared a confused look before directing their attention back to Hajime.

"She said she loved me and then kissed me. Like… right on the lips."

"Holy shit!"  
"Fuck!"

Neither of them could believe it!

"Since when are you popular with the ladies, Hajime!?" Kazuichi protested.

"You got 'a kidding me." Fuyuhiko's surprise was different from Kazuichi's, however. While he was shocked that she would do something like that - what surpassed that emotion was anger. "What the hell was she thinking!? Is she fucked in the head?!"

Fuyuhiko launched himself off the desk to face Hajime. "You better have told her to get fucked. I swear to god if you tell me you love her back…"

"I didn't reciprocate her feelings, no." Hajime solemnly and sincerely replied, not giving into Fuyuhiko's taunts.

"Damn… she's really not doing so hot then…" Said Kazuichi.

"Good! Serves her right!" Fuyuhiko stomped as he leaned himself against a wall behind the reception desk.

It took some time until anyone had the confidence to speak up. It seemed Hajime's honesty hadn't accomplished easing his conscious as he had hoped, but instead, served as a clarification that he had almost certainly upset her. He could feel the guilt tear away at him. To help it, he promised himself that he would go see her before he went back to sleep.

"Anyway, forgetting about _**THAT**_… I told Peko I loved her today." Fuyuhiko rather proudly stated.

"About time!" Kazuichi shouted from across the room as he began to fly across it again on his chair.

"Yeah…" Hajime grinned. "Good for you, man. What'd she say?"

"Thanks, thanks. Yeah… the gist of it is she isn't sure if her feelings for me are familiar love or romantic love."

"_Oh, damn!"_ Kazuichi shouted as he zipped by.

"Oh, man... Hopefully, it's the latter otherwise that's not being friend-zoned… it's even worse… that's…"

"THAT'S BEING FAMILY ZONED, BRO!"

"_Errr_… GET OFF THAT FUCKING CHAIR, YOU IDIOT!" Fuyuhiko shouted at Kazuichi, clearly annoyed with his comment. "And don't shout! If you wake up Peko, I'll kill ya!"

Kazuichi shot back a cheeky grin being proud that he was able to get Fuyuhiko so riled up. He rolled his chair over to the desk and placed his elbows on a lower section that he could reach. He put the palms of his hands underneath his chin to support his head and continued with his cockiness. "You're shouting too, you know!?"

"Why you little!" Fuyuhiko clenched his fist. He wanted to be mad but just couldn't muster any real amount of rage to throwback, and Kazuichi's dumb, goofy smile wasn't helping either.

"Were things always like this between you guys? You know… goofing around like this?" Hajime inquired.

"Totally has been!"  
"Don't lump me in with him!"

Their opposing answers had answered his question.

Kazuichi had always taken joy in pushing Fuyuhiko's buttons, and he would respond in turn. Although an amusing sight to see them bickering so casually Hajime couldn't help but feel a barrier come into place between them. No matter what he did, there was no way to overcome it. His relationship with everyone was limited, they had known each other for years while he had known them for mere weeks.

He always thought of them as a class, but the truth was that he wasn't part of it. He just pretended to be… like an imposter.

…

"I swear if you call me your soul brother one more goddamn time! I'll make you shampoo my asshole with your tongue you son of a bitch!"

"Oh, come on, Fuyu! We're soul brothers! How long have we known each other!?"

"Far too long… wait, what did you just call me?"

"Don't like your new nickname? I'm trying to come up with one! Yo! My other soul brother Hajime, any ideas?"

"-"

"Hajime?"

Perplexed by Hajime's seemingly out of body experience, Kazuichi tapped him on the shoulder which seemed to bring him out of his stupor. Hajime spat out a startling "Eh?" as he came too.

"Jeez, if you're tired you should just go to bed, dude! We're just shooting the shit here, so it's no worries." Kazuichi went to roll backwards after speaking but decided against it when he saw Fuyuhiko shooting him evil eyes.

"No, no, sorry! I'm good. Was just thinking I don't really fit in with you guys…" Hajime's eyes widened in surprise, shocked that he said aloud exactly what he was thinking.

Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi looked at each other, dumbfounded before breaking out into laughter.

"…Oh yeah! Mister reserve course over here!" Fuyuhiko slapped him repeatedly on the back.

"I always forget about that! It feels like you've been with us for ages!"

"Yeah, you may be dumb as a rock, but we're still soul-_brothers_." Fuyuhiko chocked on his words - not believing that they just left his mouth. He could feel the shit-eating grin on Kazuichi's face without seeing it. "Oh god, the loser mechanic is rubbing off on me…"

"SOUL BROTHERS! SOUL BROTHERS! SOUL BROTHERS!" Kazuichi chanted.

"Oh yeah…" Hajime raised a finger to his chin, "I remember you saying that. Soul brother, huh? You really consider me that?"

"Course, dude! The three musketeers right here!" Although discouraged by their collective sighs at his remark Kazuichi pressed on, "Come now! We survived the killing game together, let's survive this too!"

"The hell is this determination and positivity coming from?" Fuyuhiko scoffed.

"Well…" The shit-eating grin was back. "You got rejected by Peko, so I'm finally not the only one in the class to get rejected! You're just as much of a relationship virgin as I am!"

"The hell you just say?! I didn't get rejected; she just needs some time to decide!" Fuyuhiko protested to deaf ears.

"Hey, now! That's not the point here, the point is: we're three single bros ready to pick up chicks! Finally, I got some wingmen!"

"Don't project your insecurities on to us you asswipe! Peko will choose me, just you wait! Also! I ain't picking up no chicks with you! I already got the love of my life!"

Kazuichi scoffed and flicked his hand toward him. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. Once we get off this island, we'll go clubbing and go to bars and shit! It'll be great!"

Both Fuyuhiko and Hajime couldn't help but cringe at his optimism but felt comforted by it. It was a nice change of pace for someone to have such a positive outlook.

The honest truth was this weird soul brother alliance Kazuichi was suggesting didn't sound too bad. Considering all three of them had struggled to make friends in the past, it felt nice being a part of something.

"You know what, screw it! That actually sounds like fun! After this is all over, the three of us should go get a drink together." Hajime cheered but backpedalled a little bit, "but minus the picking up chicks' part…"

"Couldn't agree more! Boys only! No girls allowed! What do you say, Fuyuhiko!?"

"Heh!" Fuyuhiko flicked his chin with his thumb. "It's a deal but under one condition: If Peko and I are together by then you have to buy the first round, if not, I will."

Kazuichi literally leapt at the offer as he bounced off his chair. "Oh! You are so on!"

They both shook on it, the handshake turning into a mini arm wrestle halfway through which Fuyuhiko easily won.

"Still, though…" Kazuichi nursed at his now sore arm, "hopefully we're all still bachelors by then! Well…" The shit-eating grin was now directed toward Hajime, "at least I know I'll have at least one single guy to hit the town with!"

A bemused look is what Hajime choose to go within reaction to his comment, "what are you trying to say?"

Kazuichi snickered; "Come on, Hajime…"

"What?…"

"Come on…"

"…"

"Let's both admit you're not exactly "popular" with the ladies." Kazuichi giggled.

Oddly enough, Fuyuhiko came to Hajime's aid. He grabbed him around the shoulders and jiggled him a little with each word. "Hey! Don't shit on my boy like that! He's more popular than you! Keep in mind Koizumi said she loved him!"

Kazuichi recoiled in shock. Partly due to the ill-suited support Fuyuhiko was providing but also having forgotten about that not so little detail.

"Sure, he's ugly, and smells bad, and is a reserve course student, and-"

"I THINK YOU'VE SAID ENOUGH!"  
"-is awkward. But it seems the ladies dig him! For some reason…"

Hajime rolled his eyes, being unsure of how to take his comments. But regained his composure quickly when Fuyuhiko shot him a well-meaning grin. Although joking about him being a reserve course student would always get under his skin even if it wasn't intentional.

Kazuichi went, "Argh!" while ripping at his hair. "S-So what? D-Doesn't mean anything!" Kazuichi still held out hope that he wasn't going to be the only one who was single by the end of their forced excursion.

A loud _**BANG**_ from above interrupted their conversation. It sounded like someone fell over or dropped something heavy. The three boys listened for a little while for another sound, but none came, so they dismissed it as nothing important.

Hajime sighed with a deep frown before speaking, "I've got a serious question for a second. With everything that's going on, do you think it's irresponsible to be in a relationship?"

Fuyuhiko was the first to answer with a rather direct response, "do what you like. Who gives a shit?"

Kazuichi sighed with a palm to his forehead. "I don't know. As long as you're not shoving it in my face, I don't mind."

"Yeah… I think he was talking in general dude…" Fuyuhiko said.

"Oh! Then yeah, I agree with Fuyuhiko. Who gives a shit!?"

Hajime had an enormous smile take hold as he shook his head, "yeah, I figured you guys would say that. God, **we're** such idiots."

As Hajime distanced himself slightly from the group to climb back onto the desk, the very deliberate usage or the word "we're" wasn't lost on them.

"No fucking way!" Fuyuhiko smiled.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Kazuichi screamed in abject horror.

Hajime's cheeks grew redder and redder. It was oddly embarrassing telling them about his newly found relationship, but he had wanted to for a while now.

"Yeah so… Sonia and I started dating. We weren't sure if it was okay to say anything, but I guess it is? So, ah… yeah…"

Fuyuhiko had a look on his face like that of a teacher who had just been shown that the worst student in the class got an 'A' on the big test. Hajime could feel the smugness emanate off him for an achievement that he felt he contributed toward. "Nice man. I'm happy for you."

"_Me too…"_ Kazuichi gave a pained smile trying his best to show his support, but it wouldn't stick as it eventually devolved to a frown. "Shit… I'm sorry. I'm happy for you, I really am."

"Kazuichi…" Hajime averted his gaze. "I know you've had feelings for her for a long time… I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner or-"

"No! No! No! Seriously! Don't apologize man! I uh…" Kazuichi took a moment to gather his thoughts. "It's hard to explain what I'm feeling. It's like… I was obsessed with Sonia for so long, and in the end, it didn't work out between us. I realized that I held her on a pedestal that she could never reach, and it was more that I loved this idealized version of her I concocted. Fuck!" Kazuichi slammed his fist on the desk as he realized, as stupid as it was, he was starting to cry. His voice now becoming crackly and brittle.

"And I'm happy she's happy with you! And I'm happy that you're happy with her, but it's… seeing someone, I liked that much for so long move on… it's still hard. It's really, really hard." Kazuichi wiped at his tears with closed fists.

"Heh, I say I moved on, but we were never together, to begin with. I thought I didn't even like her anymore, yet it still hurts this bad! Fuck… love is brutal man."

"Kazuichi…" That's all Hajime could muster to say. What was he meant to?

"Just uh… tell me one thing. Do you love her?"

"Do I love, Sonia? …Well… I…"

"_Please stop!"_ A high pitch voice called from around the stairwell. They heard the pitter-patter of bare feet before Sonia revealed herself. Overwhelmingly embarrassed, she played with the bottom of her singlet before bowing onto her hands and knees and pressing her forehead onto the ground.

"I am sorry!"

Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue as he crossed his arms, "you were eavesdropping, weren't you?"

"Yes… it was not my intention. I saw Hajime and Kazuichi were both missing from their beds, so I was curious as to what was going on. But when I came downstairs, I heard you three talking and then my name mentioned by Hajime so I… I… I am sorry!"

"H-How…" Kazuichi looked as if he was about to breakdown crying. "How much did you hear?"

Sonia carefully stood up, her left leg before her right one. The whole time a look of terrible guilt and pain was washed over her face… slowly… very slowly she took a step forward.

Then another.

Before another quickly-paced step.

Eventually, she broke into a full sprint and dove onto Kazuichi, knocking him against the desk.

"I am so sorry, Kazuichi! I am a fool! No… that does not do justice for my stupidity… I am a buffoon! A boob! A complete and utter nitwit!"

Kazuichi tried to back himself away, being overwhelmed by Sonia's presence. His cheeks were red and palms now sweaty. But Sonia refused his attempt and grabbed his hands in hers.

"I… I did not realize your feelings for me were so… cumbersome. Kazuichi, I owe you an apology."

"W-What are you talking about!?"

Sonia grimaced before speaking. A sad shadow being cast upon it.

"I used to be so angry… so angry about the way you treated me. Like a doll, like a… well, I suppose we have already come to an understanding about that. But due to that anger, although I pride myself on being a compassionate person, I showed you none. Thinking back, I treated you rather horribly."

Kazuichi's previous embarrassment had vanished as a strange confidence had taken its place. "No! Listen, I understand why! I'm the one who treated you poorly in the first place! You were just responding in kind."

"That is no excuse… two wrongs do not make a right. I should have had the confidence to confront you directly far sooner. I am sorry."

Kazuichi could see her distress. It seemed the thought of her upsetting him so, had upset her in turn. Although Kazuichi considered it unfounded, he truly felt like she had nothing to apologize for, but he realized… that's not what she needed to hear.

"Apology accepted. Thanks, Sonia." He shot her a big and warm grin. "Let's be more open with each other from now on, yeah?"

Sonia returned an equally warm closed mouth smile. "Yes, let's!"

Any trace amounts of bitterness between the two had now wholly vanished, and although she regretted eavesdropping on them, Sonia considered herself fortunate to hear Kazuichi's confession as it now created an even stronger bond between them.

The two then quickly realized the awkwardness of the situation as Hajime and Fuyuhiko watched on, unsure of what to do with themselves. Fortunately, Sonia thought of a way to diffuse the awkwardness.

She pulled Kazuichi aside, only a few metres away from the others. Then rather loudly, although acting like she was whispering said; "So Kazuichi I need your opinion. As a good friend of mine, one who used to love me, one who knows me very well, what do you think… should I be dating Hajime?"

Hajime watched on being unsure of how this was going to play out while Fuyuhiko burst into laughter.

It seemed inappropriate even… cruel to ask someone who used to love you that question, but for Kazuichi; It's exactly what he needed. An admittance of his former love, that it meant something, that it wasn't all for nothing and this small opinion of input on Sonia's future was precisely that.

Kazuichi nodded his head diligently with fingers wrapped around his chin as if thinking the situation over carefully. He then whispered back to Sonia in an equally loud voice to the one she had used previously.

"Well… I heard he snorted soup this one time…"

"Oh, really?! I heard the same thing!"

Hajime collapsed into a little ball of embarrassment on the floor while Fuyuhiko cackled on.

"I also heard he smells and can be really awkward sometimes…"

"Is that so!?"

Hajime began to softly headbutt the floor while Fuyuhiko cheered. Overjoyed with their performance.

"But… even though you are way, _WAY_ out of his league… I don't think you two could be any more of a perfect match for one another."

"Eep!" Sonia's cheeks went red in embarrassment and shoulders hunched. She didn't expect such an… _overwhelming_ response but was clearly pleased by it. So was Hajime who had finally untangled himself from his previous position and now sat a little awestruck.

Kazuichi returned a wink and a smile in his direction.

Sonia strolled over and offered Hajime a helping hand off the floor. He accepted, and they held hands for a brief moment before parting, the awkwardness of being watched getting to them both. Fuyuhiko groaned at the display of affection.

"Right… I am sorry again for eavesdropping. I shall head back to bed now, although, Hajime… if I could talk to you privately sooner than later, I would appreciate it."

"Oh yeah… sure. I'll be there in a sec."

With a final bow, Sonia went to go up the stairs, but as she passed Kazuichi, she paused. Suddenly, she whispered in his ear something brief, taking no longer than a couple of seconds. Kazuichi's cheeks went a bright, rosy tone of red before Sonia ran off.

Hajime was curious to what she said but figured he would ask her later.

Fuyuhiko was first to break the silence. "Well, that was… something."

"You really okay with me dating her, dude?" Hajime asked.

Kazuichi gave a smile paired with a thumbs up, "Yeah, dude! I meant it, you two seriously go well together!"

"T-Thanks man…"

"Seriously though, can't believe she eavesdropped on us!" Kazuichi shook his head.

With a roll of his eyes, Fuyuhiko replied. "OH, fuck up! You used to eavesdrop on the girl's conversations all the time, although you were too pussy to admit it like she did."

"H-Hey! But I… umm…"

"Yeah…" Hajime chuckled. "Don't think you can argue with that o-"

"_**AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHHHH!"**_

A deafening screech of pain came from above. They recognized it to be Peko's voice.

"**PLEASE! I AM BEGGING YOU NOT TO DO THIS!"**

It was Sonia's now.

"Peko!"  
"Sonia!"  
"Sonia!"

The three unanimously called out. They didn't waste any time, not a single second. Any kind of relaxed atmosphere being smashed apart by their cries. In an instant, they raced up the stairwell while still hearing various voices.

"**Please… I do not want anyone to die! …IT HURTS! IT HURTS!"**

"**FUCKING DIE! DIE, BITCH! FUCK YOU! YES! BLEED, BITCH!"**

"**YOU DID THIS! I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM!"**

Hajime arrived first, to see a pool of blood trickling out of the breakroom. Among the red streaks were a diamond-adorned bow and half-eaten chocolate.

Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko arrived behind Hajime and pushed forward into the doorway of the room. Sickly, pitch-black darkness engulphed it, preventing them from seeing what was happening.

But someone from inside the room had spotted them and spoke with a garbled and pained voice they didn't recognize.

It only said three words:

"_**Happy Birthday, Kuzuryu."**_


	18. Then & Now

**THEN**

Peko stared into the metal casing of her lunch box with panic. It was empty. She looked across the classroom to where Fuyuhiko sat. He was talking to a boy with pink hair tucked awkwardly beneath a beany. Even on the first day of school, he wasn't wearing the uniform, opting for a blue jumpsuit instead. He seemed strange… but not a threat, so she didn't see it necessary to get involved.

More importantly, Peko could scarcely make out a half-eaten rice ball in Fuyuhiko's hand. She sighed with relief.

'At least I packed his lunch.' She thought.

Peko collapsed onto the desk before closing her eyes.

'What a terrible way to start the school year…'

…

"Um…

…

Ah, excuse me?

…

Hello?"

…

Peko felt the press of a finger against her cheek which startled her awake. "Eep!" She cried as she shot back up to a sitting position.

"Sorry!"

A girl stood before her. Short red hair and freckles complemented a concerned gaze.

"Actually, I'm not sorry! Lunchtime or not, you shouldn't be sleeping in class!"

Peko blinked back – unsure of how to reply.

"Jeez… I guess it isn't your fault, though. Here." The girl held out a clear Tupperware container, inside was rice with what looked like some kind of meat and veggies. "Come on, take it!"

Peko hesitantly grabbed hold of the box.

"It's just some extra food I had. I'd hate for a classmate to go hungry on the first day of school. So, don't worry about it."

Peko peered through the container at the obfuscated food. It looked delicious.

"Anyway…" The girl spun around a spare chair to sit across from her, using Peko's desk as her own. "I hope it's alright if I have lunch with you. I don't really know anyone. I guess it can be pretty awkward at the start of a new school year."

The girl was chatty. Peko realized she hadn't uttered a single word, yet it didn't seem to dissuade her.

"I can already tell there's a bunch of perverts in this class, so we have to stick together, and someone with your good looks better be careful! Oh, jeez not that I'm trying to embarrass you or anything it's…"

The girl kept talking as she ate. She was so casual and friendly. Peko looked around as if to confirm that she was the one being spoken to.

"_I umm…"_

The girl paused, taken back by her muttering.

"_W-What's your name?"_

"Oh! I'm sorry! Here I am going on, and I totally forgot to introduce myself! My name's Mahiru Koizumi, it's nice to meet _you…_" The girl trailed off to look at her expectedly.

"P-Peko. Peko Pekoyama."

"Nice to meet you, Pekoyama!"

Mahiru smiled.

And without knowing why.

Without even realizing it.

Peko smiled back.

* * *

**NOW**

There was only one thought racing through Peko's head when she found Mahiru silhouetted in the doorway.

'**Is Fuyuhiko okay?'**

Nothing else mattered, she had to confirm his safety as soon as possible.

"Koizumi…" Peko's voice was low and threatening. "What are you doing here? Where's Fuyuhiko? Did you hurt him?"

Due to her fuzzy vision, it was tough for Peko to distinguish what Mahiru was doing. She could only just make out a walking stick in one hand and in her other… she was holding something… with a sort of liquid dripping off it.

"**I wonder… I wonder… I wonder…" **The being before Peko took a step forward. She now realized this creature was no longer Mahiru Koizumi, but an animal driven by nothing but it's primal urges and instinct.

In this sickly creature's case, its goal was obvious; **despair**.

Mahiru's face was void of life, blank. A small glob of spit dribbled from the corner of her crooked smile as her unblinking gaze never left Peko – fixated on her prey.

The unknown object in her hand was rotated in the limited light, revealing it's nature.

**A shard of glass.**

Her bony finger ran over the blade, causing a drop of blood to trickle from her finger and down her wrist.

Peko couldn't help but taunt a crude smile seeing her in this state.

"I understand now, you couldn't live with your mistakes, and you fell to despair. How pathetic."

"**I wonder… I wonder… I wonder…"**

"You wonder what? Are you so insane you can no longer form coherent sentences?"

"**I wonder… I wonder… I wonder…"**

Peko stood now, sick of these games.

"Where's Fuyuhiko? Tell me this instant."

"I wonder…" Mahiru's timid smile now turned into an all-encompassing grin as her face's skin stretched, struggling to meet her demands. "I wonder what face he would make if I feed him your entrails? I would just have to get a picture!"

Peko readied herself in a fighting stance. She tried to recall if there was something she could use as a weapon in her proximity but realized there was none. Even if there was it would be near impossible to find it in the dark before Mahiru attacked.

"Pekoyama…" Mahiru blushed as she pressed the palm of her hand against one cheek and the glass shard against the other. A trail of blood trickled down her cheek as she did so. "I'm going to slit your fucking throat and stain these walls with your blood."

"I would like to see you try."

Mahiru was first to strike, her movements were erratic and unpredictable as she lurched forward. That of someone who happily contorted their form without the worry of injury or pain. She fainted a stab with the glass before catching Peko off guard with the cane, managing to glance a hit off the top of her skull.

This fight was going to be hard-fought. If Peko were at her peak, it would already be over but due to her fatigue, concussion and most of all blindness it was already proving difficult to parry Mahiru's blows.

The creature struck again. This time she threw all her weight into a frontal stab towards Peko's belly. The swordswoman managed to catch her hand. Mahiru repelled with a blow to the jaw from the tip of the cane. As Peko recoiled from the hit, she palmed Mahiru in the chest, knocking her back and preventing a follow-up strike.

The two stood separated for a brief moment as they regained their breath.

Peko took this opportunity to plan her next move.

'This is bad… in my current condition I'm not certain I can win this. I'm only narrowly dodging her blade… it's only a matter of time until she gets a puncture and then it will most likely be over for me. What should I do?

I could run? Maybe call for help? No… she might go after Fuyuhiko if that happens. Which means that leaves me with one option.

I have to win this. No matter the cost.

Calm down and think.

If I can't beat her with my fists, then what could I use? How can I gain an advantage?'

Mahiru relaxed her posture and stretched her arms up high, "So how long do you think you can hold out until I spill the contents of your belly?"

Peko's stern expression didn't waver at her taunts. She gathered a glob of spit and blood in her mouth and spat it at Mahiru's feet.

"Are you going to kill me or not?"

Mahiru snarled as she squeezed the glass in her hand with a firmer grip. Blood oozed down her palm as the glass dug deeper into her flesh and muscle. "Bleed, bitch!"

Mahiru charged while swinging the cane above her head. It came down on Peko's forearm like a hammer's blow - leaving a painful welt.

The glass came next, hard and fast towards Peko's belly. She grabbed her by the wrist and used her momentum to propel Mahiru forward, making her trip over the coffee table. As she fell, Mahiru spun around and sliced the underside of Peko's forearm with a horizontal cut.

She quickly backed a couple paces as Mahiru recovered from the fall.

Peko felt up and down her arm but experienced no pain, adrenaline preventing it. She was relieved to find the wound wasn't spurting blood. Fortunately, an artery wasn't severed.

"Fucking bitch!" The creature huffed as she shakily rose to her feet.

However, the creature's snarls fell silent when the trickle of blood echoed through the room.

"Oh no! Don't tell me I punctured an artery already! We can't have you dying just yet…"

Peko scoffed as she stood. Staring at Mahiru with her head on a lean, she noticed her shaking - not from fear but from the strain. It seemed her muscles were already starting to reach their limits. With that observation, Peko finally understood what she needed to do.

'If I can pin her, I'll win in a battle of strength. The only issue is the glass… I need some way to block it…'

She didn't need to gain an advantage; she was far stronger. The only reason this fight had continued was because of her disadvantages. The blindness, the concussion. Create a scenario where they don't intertwine, and she would win.

Peko cemented her will at what had to happen next. No matter personal feelings or prior relationships, it was all irrelevant. Fuyuhiko had to be safe at all costs.

'**I have to kill her.'**

* * *

**THEN**

"Hey! So, this is Pekoyama, she's a little shy, but she seems cool!"

"Oh, yes! It is an honour to meet you, Pekoyama! I overheard that you are the ultimate swordswoman! Is that true!?"

This new girl was of tall stature and gave an air of authority with her very presence. She was nothing like the first girl; Koizumi. The fact was Peko felt threatened by her.

"Yes… is that a problem?"

"Of course not! I think it is amazing! But I am getting ahead of myself. I apologize. My name is Sonia Nevermind! I am new to Japan; I hope you can show me the ropes."

Her eyes sparkled bright, showing not a lick of ill-intent.

Which was… frustrating. Peko felt as if being deceived but couldn't place her finger on how. In fact, she wondered if this was some elaborate plot concocted to get at Fuyuhiko somehow.

Having noticed Peko's distasteful expression to Sonia's sentiment, Mahiru pitched in.

"Hey, Pekoyama. Sonia's really nice okay, I was talking to her earlier, you can trust her."

Peko's stern expression turned to the one who spoke.

"Yes, but who is to say I can trust you?"

"-!" While Mahiru was speechless, Sonia's eyes gleamed brighter.

"I see now! Koizumi, do you not understand?! Pekoyama is a Japanese Samurai! Never letting her guard down, never letting anyone get close, or god forbid they end up as her Sensei! –"

Mahiru tried her best to stop Sonia's rambling, but she was too far gone.

"She now scours the land of the rising sun - swearing vengeance on her Sensei's killer. For one day she shall find the assassin, and they shall duel to the death as the bell strikes midnight!"

Peko was left speechless while Mahiru began to profusely apologize.

"Sonia! Japan is not like the movies you watch! Please refrain from scaring off every new person you meet!"

"Are they not!?" Sonia gasped.

Seeing something so baffling, so utterly absurd Peko experienced a strange phenomenon as a sparse smile emerged from her usually desolate face. This occurrence was followed by an involuntary spasm of her diaphragm. It continued for some time with short-paced breaths paired with teary eyes.

Peko didn't know what this foreign experience was. It was becoming difficult to breathe, which would usually be cause for concern, but in this instance, she didn't mind it. Finding the experience pleasurable.

"That is the most nonsensical thing I have ever heard!" Peko strained to speak between giggles.

Sonia smiled at Mahiru.

"It seems I have a lot to learn. Pekoyama…"

Peko paused to see Sonia staring down with an earnest expression.

"Do you want to be friends?" Sonia asked.

"-!" Peko was shocked. Friends, but why? She couldn't comprehend her reasoning behind befriending someone like herself. She was no longer suspect of her having malice, but to what end would she request such a thing.

"That sounds nice!" Mahiru pitched in, "we should all get to know each other better. What do you say, Pekoyama?"

She furrowed her brow.

"Why? I'm not… I'm no fun. You would be better off befriending someone else."

"I will! I plan to make many friends!" Sonia shouted. "Nevertheless, that doesn't mean I cannot be your friend as well!"

Mahiru timidly lay her hand on Pekoyama's.

"Pekoyama… have you never had a friend before?"

Peko's cheeks went a little red as she nodded.

"Well then, I guess Sonia and I are your first ones!"

* * *

"Listen all I'm saying is pineapple on pizza should be considered a hate crime! Is that so much to ask?"

Fuyuhiko ignored Kazuichi's scatter-brained ramblings to focus on Peko from across the room. She was approached by two girls he recognized to be in their class, although he hadn't met them yet.

Absentminded, he drew a finger over his jawline as he watched on with hesitant breaths. Peko had next to no interaction with other people their age so he couldn't help but worry that this might be a bit too much for her.

However, his fretting was dashed as he saw her smile. A big, fat, goofy smile he had never seen her wear before.

"**Okay, let's be friends!"**

He heard her remark as the smile took further hold. He realized his concerns were unfounded and took further comfort in a simple hope for the future.

'Perhaps… she can finally be happy.'

* * *

**NOW**

This time Mahiru was the one caught off guard as Peko charged. She had a moment of disbelief before readying herself.

Peko's movement was fast, confident and precise. Something seemed different about her, and it made Mahiru feel uneasy. Putting her doubts aside, Mahiru took all the resolve she had left and charged as well.

What happened next occurred in mere moments. To pull something off so skillfully and quickly would require inhuman reaction time and precision which Pekoyama – the ultimate swordswoman possessed.

As Mahiru charged, she aimed her shard toward the belly of her opponent, but as Peko ran forward, she flipped the coffee table over with one hand; using it as a makeshift shield. Her entire torso was now covered by mahogany wood.

In an attempt to stop her onslaught Mahiru tried to stab through the table to no avail. She was hit with Peko's full might as she collapsed both herself and the table on top of Mahiru. She tried to follow through with another stab, but Peko grabbed her wrist, slamming her hand against the ground repeatedly until the glass was torn from her hand.

With her primary weapon now compromised, she tried to use the cane, but with her upper body trapped beneath the table, she couldn't get any leverage. Hitting Peko with as much power as an infant.

With that realization, Mahiru felt the despair seep in.

She was trapped, the fight was over, and she had lost.

"Well… you got me Peko. I gUE-"

The cold and sudden embrace of Peko's thumbs digging into her throat interrupted the monologue. Puzzled by the unexpected development, not understanding what was happening to her; Mahiru looked up to see an unrelenting gaze peering back.

**Cold,**

**unfeeling,**

**unforgiving,**

**merciless.**

Not a hint of sympathy was given to this person she once called her friend.

She was strangling her to death.

Her grip tightened.

The cartilage in her neck began to tear as it struggled to keep intact.

Mahiru panicked.

She pleaded with her eyes to stop and mouthed the words. She clawed and hit at her sides, but Peko didn't relent.

**"Hey, Peko! My birthday is coming up, and we're all going to karaoke. We better see you there!"**

'I thought our friendship would have meant something.'

**"You got an A on the test! Wow, you're amazing, Peko!"**

'Don't you want to save me?'

"**Hey Peko, it's raining so… do you want a lift home?"**

'I thought…

I believed…

…You cared.'

* * *

"**You… you really want to be friends with me?" Pekoyama asked.**

"**Of course!" Mahiru and Sonia replied in unison.**

**Pekoyama looked as if she was about to cry but fought off the tears with an enormous grin.**

"**Okay, let's be friends!"**

* * *

As Mahiru's consciousness began to fade a small voice called out.

A tiny spark of light that despair had isolated but could never snuff out.

It pleaded.

It begged.

One earnest and simple wish.

'I don't want to die...'

And somewhere from beyond the darkness.

Beyond the confines of her fading consciousness, a voice cried back.

"_**STOP THIS AT ONCE!"**_

* * *

**Sonia**

It wouldn't stop.

Sonia would count the seconds between the flash of light and the approaching crack of thunder. Her father had taught her that trick. The more seconds between the flash of light and the sound of thunder, the further away the lightning was.

But…

It didn't matter how much she braced herself. It would terrify, nonetheless.

As embarrassing as it was, she couldn't bear this torment any longer. She needed someone to protect her from what she knew was an irrational fear, but one that stemmed from an all too real event.

She made a feeble attempt to look at least a little proper. The wrinkles on her forehead softened, her hair was tidied and laid over her left shoulder, and she realigned the straps of her singlet.

Once happy, she delicately tiptoed to the bed next to hers.

"Hajime…" Sonia whispered as she poked at the blankets. But was surprised to find it empty.

She put a finger to her lips with questions of his location now bouncing around her noggin. Knowing that at any moment, lightning would strike again, she didn't see any reason to hesitate. Being very careful to not wake up the others she snuck out of the bedroom and headed downstairs.

* * *

**A few minutes later…**

As Sonia left the three guys on the first floor and headed back upstairs, strange sounds emanating from the break room caught her attention.

With a quickened yet careful pace, Sonia approached the source of her curiosity. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, but once they had, she found the horrific scene before her.

Mahiru pinned beneath Peko with a table between them.

Peko's hands were coiled around Mahiru's throat, saliva drooled down the corner of her mouth. Her face pale and eyes bloodshot.

"Peko…" Sonia muttered in disbelief. There had to be something she was missing. There is no possible way her two friends could be fighting each other in such a ghoulish fashion.

Through gritted teeth, Peko replied, "Stay… away…!"

Sonia noticed blood seep around her feet. A stream that originated from their struggle and had zigzagged down the uneven floor to the entrance.

This familiar feeling, this horrible feeling of being surrounded by blood finally snapped Sonia out of her stupor.

"_**STOP THIS AT ONCE!"**_ Sonia cried out as she wrestled Peko off her victim. "What do you think you're doing!? You are killing her!" She wrapped her arms around Peko's shoulders and pulled with all her might causing the grip to loosen around Mahiru's throat.

"Get off me!" Peko snapped.

"I refuse!"

Sonia placed the palm of her hand under Pekoyama's chin and pushed upward. The slight strain eventually became agony causing Peko to lose her grip on Mahiru entirely.

Koizumi spluttered and coughed before taking the biggest breath of her life. Oxygen once again, finally filling her lungs. As much as her despair side wanted to taunt and insult, she couldn't manage it between her panicked breaths.

"What is wrong with you?!" Sonia grabbed Peko by the shoulders. "You were trying to kill Mahiru!"

"Sonia. I need to keep Fuyuhiko safe… I'm giving you this one chance. BACK. OFF." Peko seethed as her relentless gaze, focused on the new problem.

"What are you talking about?! I am not going to sit idly by while you kill Mahiru! I'll-"

Peko struck Sonia on the right cheek with a closed fist. Using her dazed state to her advantage, she then clocked her head against the floor.

Unfortunately, the blow didn't knock her unconscious as planned.

Sonia headbutted Peko in the nose. A gush of blood spurting out on impact. With a quick sidestep and twist, she then had Peko in an arm lock.

"What are you doing!? We are friends! Why are you fighting me?"

Mahiru was beginning to regain her breath and free herself from beneath the table. Peko had to hurry. It was only a matter of time until she was back on her feet, and then there was no guarantee she would be able to keep her under control.

"I must protect Fuyuhiko! Mahiru is in despair, and it's only a matter of time until she hurts him. She has to die! Fuyuhiko must be okay!"

"That isn't necessary! We can restrain her!"

"And then what!? She will always be a threat!"

"_Co do cholery?!_ Do you have no compassion?! **She is your friend!**"

"Friend...?"

There was no point to their bickering. Peko now understood what had to happen next.

'I have to protect Fuyuhiko. At all costs.

My life would be nothing without him.

These frivolous friendships mean nothing.

They can be replaced.

They are fleeting.'

* * *

**THEN**

Peko had taken a detour and was now running late but hoped it would be worth it. As she ran for class, she clutched a paper bag with various flavours of Takoyaki inside.

Sonia admitted the other day that she had never had Takoyaki even though she had been in Japan for some time now and as it just so happened Peko walked past a small store that sold it on her way to school each day.

'I'm not an interesting person…

I'm still not sure what they see in me

But…

This is something even I can do.'

"Hello, everyone!" Peko cheerily greeted as she entered the classroom.

No one replied, even though the room was full of her classmates.

They were huddled in a group in the corner of the room. Concern was washed over everyone's faces.

"Erm, what's going on?" Peko asked as she approached.

She was quickly spotted by Mahiru and Sonia and taken aside to the opposite end of the classroom.

"We're not exactly sure… but a section of the school has been sectioned off by the police." Said Mahiru. "Murmurs of a murder occurring on campus are now floating about. Although it seems if such an event has occurred, it was in the reserve course."

"Oh…"

"Yes, well… we don't know anything yet. So hopefully it's some kind of false alarm."

A murder occurring on campus.

It was only a rumour, but Peko felt as if it were her responsibility to investigate. Afterall if their gang was behind it, she might need to cover for someone.

"Any idea when this murder occurred?" Peko asked.

"We are still unsure if it was a murder!" Sonia replied. "But… I saw that part of the school on my way in this morning, and it was not cornered off."

'A murder at school, while the students are there and in broad daylight. It couldn't have been the Kuzuryu's then. They don't act so recklessly.'

Peko breathed a sigh of relief but sucked it back in as she realized that would look odd at best with the current circumstances.

"Right. I suppose we will just have to wait and see."

Peko found the conversation evaporate quicker than she would have thought. The pair leaving her to stare out the window.

Although poor timing with what had occurred, it didn't have to ruin her gift. In fact, it might help to improve the bleak atmosphere.

Peko gulped. The paper bag loudly crinkled under her tightening grip. "It's not much but I…I!... I brought this for you!"

She bowed down with her head facing the floor.

…

…

Peko inquisitively looked up to find no one paying her offer any consideration. It was like she hadn't spoken at all.

"W-What is it?" Peko asked.

Sonia briefly exchanged a glance before resuming her search as she looked out across the campus.

"Tis silly to think such absurd thoughts but… Kuzuryu. He has not shown up to class yet."

Peko's eyes went wide, her throat now felt dry, and it became difficult to swallow. She scanned the classroom to find that almost everyone was accounted for…

Everyone except him.

Peko dropped the bag on the ground - spilling the Takoyaki onto the floor.

"I-I-I-I-I…"

Her panicked murmuring seemed to get their attention.

"What's wrong?" Mahiru inquired.

"Bathroom," Peko mumbled before dashing out of the classroom. A weak alibi at best for her sudden disappearance but she didn't care.

As she sprinted toward the reserve course building, the anxiety swelled and boiled up inside her.

'I was careless! I was so distracted with my own childish endeavours that I lost focus. Please… I just need one more chance. I'll never fail again. Just one more chance. It's all I'm asking.'

Halfway there.

She ran down the paved path toward the centre of the campus that hosted an extravagantly large fountain. And as Peko got closer, there, sitting on a bench, was the man she was looking for.

"Fuyuhiko!" Peko cried out. "You're okay! I was so worried!"

He didn't reply.

"It was silly of me. I ran all the way here for nothing. I suppose I'll head back."

"Peko…" Fuyuhiko's voice was gravelly.

"Yes?" She faced him. His face was dark and sore red rings circled his puffy eyes.

"I was just about to look for you. I need you to come with me."

"Of course, but what about our relationship being uncovered? And what is this about?"

Fuyuhiko shakily rose to his feet and began to walk toward his destination, with Peko close behind.

"I gotta id a body."

"What? But why?"

"Cause… they think it's my sister."

…

The blood around Peko's fist seeped into the drywall. She punched it again. Her nerves becoming so damaged that the pain was beginning to dull.

"How could I have been so stupid! Having fun! Living an 'ordinary' school life. What a crock of shit! I got lazy! I got careless! And now because of my negligence, Fuyuhiko lost the most important person in his life!

…

…

I'll never forgive myself.

I'll never forget this pain.

I'll never forget my place.

I'm filth.

I'm horrible.

I'm worthless.

**I'm a tool.**

I don't matter.

My feelings don't matter.

I'll never forget that again.

HE MUST ALWAYS COME FIRST.

…

"Peko! Where have you been!?" Sonia cried out before running over with Mahiru in tow.

"We've been worried about you!" Mahiru said as she tugged at Peko's sleeve.

Peko's face was blank. Even less emotion than usual.

"Peko?" Sonia asked with her head cocked to the side.

It took Peko sometime to respond, but once she did, it was dismissive at best, "Don't call me that. It's Pekoyama."

"Oh…"

Peko spotted her bag of Takoyaki on Mahiru's desk. She pushed past the pair to grab it.

"Oh, is that yours? I'm sorry, but most of it spilled onto the ground." Said Mahiru.

Peko hesitantly pulled out the plastic container containing six Takoyaki balls of various flavours.

"Is that Takoyaki!?" Sonia nearly drooled.

"It is…"

Sonia placed her hands together before bowing her head respectfully. "Please, oh please may I partake in some! As I said, I am yet to have any and-"

"No."

"Oh… I see. I apologize for being so forward."

Peko proceeded to a trash can nearby and threw the lot out. She ate her lunch alone from that day forward.

* * *

**NOW**

Peko cried out through pained tears. "Friends! Don't be ridiculous!"

She threw all her weight into a backwards headbutt – freeing her of Sonia's grasp.

"I don't have any friends! I don't care about any of you!"

Peko grabbed Sonia under her armpits, and just as Mahiru began to escape from beneath the table, Peko threw Sonia atop it. Her escape being thwarted. The table, Sonia's and Peko's weight now pinned her.

"What are you doing!? PEKO!" Sonia cried out.

Peko noticed the shard of glass on the floor next to her. Her own bloody reflection mirrored on its cracked shell. Peko picked it up, letting loose a painful _**"AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHHHH!" **_ as she gripped it firmly and lodged it into the palm of her hand.

The rain grew louder.

Sonia watched on in abject horror as Peko's attention turned from the glass to her.

"**PLEASE! I AM BEGGING YOU NOT TO DO THIS!"**

It was too late.

Peko only had one thing on her mind; Fuyuhiko's safety and by not allowing her to kill Mahiru. Sonia was now in the way of this goal.

"He's all that matters!" Peko shouted now utterly lost in her own delusions.

Sonia let loose a blood-curdling scream as Peko shoved the shard toward her jugular.

'**I refuse to die like this… there is a brighter, shining future awaiting us and I want us all there to see it!'**

The glass was narrowly stopped by the palms of Sonia's hands. The piece tore into her left palm. As Peko applied more pressure, it dug through the skin, muscle and eventually… bone.

"**Please…"** Sonia begged through hyperventilated breaths. **"I do not want anyone to die!"**

Mahiru cackled at the childish sentiment.

Peko was surprised by the Princess' resistance, it seemed she had doubted her strength. But it didn't matter she had the leverage.

The silver-haired woman struck the glass like a nail with her hand as the hammer, lodging it deeper into Sonia and closer to her throat.

"**IT HURTS! IT HURTS!" **The glass dug its way between the base of Sonia's index and middle finger. Wedging itself between them and forcing them apart.

Peko struck the glass again with her bloody knuckles.

It finally pierced through Sonia's left hand in its entirety and now stabbed into the palm of her right.

Mahiru took childlike delight at the visceral scene befalling these people who were once her friends.** "FUCKING DIE! DIE, BITCH! FUCK YOU! YES! BLEED, BITCH!" **She jabbed at Sonia's side and tickled under her arms, making it even more difficult. Her voice was now tight and wheezy from her throat being damaged.

Peko ignored the psycho's taunts. This horrible pit in her stomach would go away once they were both dead. Or at least she hoped.

"**YOU DID THIS! I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM!" **Peko shrieked with tears now beginning to flood her eyes.

But suddenly Peko was distracted by a series of footsteps approaching. This had to end now... she strained every muscle fibre in her body. Adrenaline coursed through her every vein. All in this single attempt to eliminate all danger that might face Fuyuhiko.

"_**Happy Birthday, Kuzuryu."**_

Peko flinched hearing those words, not understanding why Mahiru would suddenly say such a thing. That was until she spotted the three silhouetted figures in the doorway.

One rushed her and before she could react was punted in the head like a football. Her limp body collapsed to the side, and the pressure on Sonia's hands and throat were finally released.

"SONIA!" Hajime called out as he recovered his footing. He knelt next to her to see the glass shard puncturing the palms of her hands. They were severed entirely through with the glass tip mere centimetres away from her throat.

Mahiru laughed maniacally as Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi tentatively entered to see the horror before them. "We're all going to die! We're all going to die! We're all going to die!" She chimed incessantly.

"It hurts…" Sonia meekly whimpered. She futilely attempted to pull her hands apart, but they were locked together by the glass like some kind of cruel torture device.

Mahiru mocked seeing Sonia in her suffering. "WAHH! WAHH! BABY GOING TO CRY?! BAHAHA!"

A march of steps was heard approaching before Akane's boisterous voice groaned, "The hell is goin -!?" any words escaped Akane as her eyes fell upon the hellish scene.

Yuki pushed Akane out of the way, stumbling on his own feet as he entered the room. He quickly spotted Mahiru still pinned beneath the table. "What the hell is this!? What happened!"

Yuki reached for her, but Hajime stopped his hand in the nick of time. Mahiru snapped at his fingers like an animal. Her teeth clanking together as she bit at the air. "Damn, so close," she taunted with a lick of her lips.

"She's in despair… leave her be." Hajime muttered under his breath while examining Sonia

Yuki fell backwards with a loud thump before covering his face with his hands. "Mahiru… dammit."

Hajime couldn't bear to see them like this. Sonia in overwhelming pain and Mahiru… at best, a shell of her former self. He wanted to run away. Hide. Become insignificant again and never dare become a person to rely on. But he couldn't.

He had to take charge.

He was the only one who could do this.

The only one with the medical know-how thanks to Kamukura invading his mind with the information.

There was no more time to waver.

"Akane, Yuki... Can you take Mahiru to the jail cell on the third floor? I'm going to take Sonia to the bathroom on the first and grab the medical supplies. And Fuyuhiko… look after Peko. I'll be back to check on her and Mahiru once I'm done with Sonia."

There were a few murmurs of unease at Hajime suddenly taking charge with this impromptu plan, but Sonia's wincing was a tribute to the fact that now was not the time to be arguing about it.

The first to leave the room was Akane and Yuki. Without a word being said, they restrained Mahiru to the point of being able to transport her. With one last dirty look from Yuki, they disappeared into the murky darkness of the hallway.

"Kazuichi, can you help me with Sonia?"

"Ah, yeah…" Kazuichi left the obscurity of the corner with a timid walk past Fuyuhiko. His pace quickening as he did so.

"Can you stand?"

Sonia nodded frantically; her teeth still clenched.

Very delicately, they rose Sonia to her feet. As they went to leave, Hajime spoke.

"Fuyuhiko…" He muttered to ground. "I'm sorry..."

Fuyuhiko remained unmoving. His eyes hadn't left Peko's unconscious body since entering the room. "You don't have anything to apologize for. This is on me."

* * *

**THEN**

"Oh, get up! I didn't hit you that hard!"

Peko could see her tooth on the dojo floor next to her vomit.

"I SAID, GET UP!" He gestured to the two large black-suited men standing guard by the door. With a flick of his hand, she was pulled by the hair to her feet. They held her arms behind her back as he approached. "ONE JOB!"

He punched Peko in the kidney.

"Protect them!"

He kicked her shin.

"AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT!"

He grabbed her wrist and put out the stump of his cigarette.

"YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!"

He gestured to the men again. They pushed her to the ground.

"I'll…" Peko spluttered on her blood. "I'll do better!"

She watched as the man's steel-capped boots approached her, step by step. "If you tell anyone that you got these bruises from anywhere but practice. I'll make you wish you were never born."

"I WON'T! I'M LOYAL TO THE KUZURYU FAMILY! ALWAYS!"

"…Tell that to my daughter." The man went to leave. "Until we're back from the funeral next week, make sure she doesn't get a moment's rest."

The sliding door slammed behind him.

'**I'll never forgive myself.**

**I'll never forget this pain.**

**I'll never forget my place.**

**I'm filth.**

**I'm horrible.**

**I'm worthless.**

**I'm a tool.'**

* * *

**Authors Note:**

Wow... that was dark, huh? Sorry about that!

Anyway, hey there! Long-time no see!

I apologize for being away for so long, I've been struggling with my writing a lot. I had a lot of anxiety about it and just couldn't get it to sound right. But well... here we are. I suppose I'll let you be the judge.

Being that it has been a while I do have a few of things I'd like to bring up real quick!

The first being that if you have read this far into the story, thank you so much! That's absolutely insane to me that someone would read what is now easily over an average book in length for my fic. Seriously, thank you. Whether you are a commenter or a lurker, from the bottom of my heart - thank you.

With that being said if you've read this far you might be interested in a couple of things of mine that are tangentially related to this fic.

The first being I have a Tumblr! I post fanart I receive for this fic as well as I plan to post occasionally on the progress of my chapters and whatnot. You can also anonymously (or not) ask me a question there as well, (even without an account!) So check it out if that's something that interests you: (Can't link here you can find it on ao3 or maybe look it up on Tumblr? :c sorry)

The second is I'm on Discord! I don't have a server or anything but feel free to add me at - Toffee Pop#1670

I answer messages pretty frequently and I promise I don't bite! So if you want to have any kind of extended dialogue with me, whether to give feedback or just say hi that's probably the place to do it! Or Tumblr...

And that's about it! As always thanks for reading, comments are seriously appreciated as well as feedback!

Oh yeah! One last thing! New chapter tomorrow - which will be even longer than this one!

See you then!


	19. The Agony of Betrayal

The evening was cold.

The island's temperature continued to steadily drop as the storm took its toll on the usually humid climate of Jabberwock island. In this icy, all-encompassing darkness, Hajime and Kazuichi escorted Sonia to the bathroom downstairs. Each step was an arduous ordeal with Sonia struggling to keep her balance. But eventually, they had made it to their destination.

The bathroom was small. More similar to that of a household bathroom than to that belonging to a building of this stature. But this island had many oddities, so it didn't come as a surprise.

The walls were a stark white with square floor tiling. A standing shower, toilet, basin and medicine cabinet populated the room.

Delicately they sat Sonia against the shower wall. Her singlet and hair were stained with splotches of gore. The blood dripping from her wounds rolled down her thighs before circling down the drain. Her breaths were deep and forced as she struggled through the constant pain.

With now a semblance of safety Hajime could not uphold his stoicism for any longer and broke down into tears as he caressed Sonia's hair.

"My sunshine. I promise everything is going to be okay."

Through squinted eyes, Sonia's lips curled into a horribly forced smile which dropped back into a frown before too long.

Hajime turned to see Kazuichi hiding in the corner again. His body stooped over and eyes glazed. "Hey, can you watch her for a sec while I grab the first aid kit."

"Oh, ah… yeah."

His manner of speaking didn't exactly instil confidence, but it would have to do.

Hajime turned back to find Sonia with her eyes fixated on the slow trickle of blood careening off the wounds on her hands. He kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear.

"I'll be right back okay, and I'll fix you right up. I promise."

He went to leave but was drawn back as Sonia whispered - her eyes no longer fixated on her wounds but on him. "Hajime… help the others first, please."

"What!?"

"I am not bleeding too badly. But Mahiru, Peko, they may be in more danger than I."

"You can't be serious! Sonia, look at you!"

Although bleeding and in unbelievable pain, Sonia still managed that warm smile he loved so much. "I'll be okay. Please, go help the others first. I will be well…" Sonia forced a chuckle. "Waiting here!"

That was it.

That unbelievable kindness and compassion.

Her ability to self-sacrifice.

To put the needs of others before her own and do the best for the most people.

That's why she was the ultimate princess.

That's why she was chosen.

It had to be.

Hajime still didn't like this plan. In fact, he hated it. But he felt it was Sonia's decision to make, not his.

"Okay. I trust you." Without really thinking about it, Hajime pressed his lips against hers, and they exchanged a quick and guilty kiss. It felt inappropriate at best, but Hajime couldn't help these overwhelming feelings pour out a little.

But before leaving to adhere to Sonia's request; Hajime got up and combed through the medicine cabinet affixed above the sink. Quickly sorting through each pill bottle with an analysing gaze before finding the one he was looking for.

"Catch." Hajime gave little warning before tossing a small plastic bottle to Kazuichi. He fumbled with his catch but caught it, nonetheless. "Painkillers – give her twice the recommended amount and if anything changes; let me know right away."

Inspired by Hajime's confidence, Kazuichi stepped forward, gripping the pill bottle tighter as he did so. "Yeah. Don't worry about it, I'll take good care of her."

Sonia watched on with envy as the two fist-bumped without issue.

"I'll be right back!" Hajime called out as he jogged out the room and around the corner.

* * *

**Hajime & Fuyuhiko**

It didn't take long for Hajime to get together a first aid kit with a few other bits and bobs he figured he might need.

Heading up the stairwell and to the left sat the breakroom.

Inside, Pekoyama now lay on the couch, still unconscious, with Fuyuhiko diligently watching over her.

"Hey. How's she going?" Hajime's face looked tense and uneasy as he approached which didn't surprise Fuyuhiko in the slightest.

"Nothing's changed… you sure fixed up Sonia fast."

"No. She wanted me to help Peko and Mahiru first."

A sad smile formed as Fuyuhiko spoke, "Yeah, that sounds like her."

"…"

"…"

The two stood silently over Peko. Neither knowing how to address the enormous elephant in the room.

What could possibly be said?

'Hey sorry, my girlfriend tried to kill yours!'

'Pfft. No worries, it happens, buddy!'

Such an absurdly crass conversation was best not had.

"I guess I'll get started," Hajime muttered to the floor.

"Yeah, okay." Fuyuhiko walked off to the corner of the room and collapsed into a ball.

Putting the soul-crushing awkwardness aside, Hajime had a job to do. One that he found himself more reluctant to go through with than he ought to be. After seeing Sonia in her condition…

'**Just leave her here to die. She deserves it.'**

The little devil on Hajime's shoulder was far louder than usual. He didn't think himself capable of such mixed emotions when it came to one person. Sympathy, respect, hate, the anger they all swirled around in this boiling pot of emotions. But in the end, it didn't matter, he had to help her. Not because it was the right thing to do or that he felt indebted in some way. But for the simple fact that she was essential to Fuyuhiko and the others.

Hajime leant down to examine Peko closer. The length of her left forearm had been sliced with a mildly severe cut. Deep enough to scar but shallow enough that her arm was able to stop the bleeding itself. But to keep it from reopening she would need stitches.

He also noticed her hand bleeding. The webbing of her finger connecting her thumb and index were torn to bloody shreds. Down the palm of her hand, there was a deep gash running from her thumb to pinkie. Around the cut small unnatural bumps could be felt protruding from under her skin. Shards of glass. They would have to be removed with a meticulous hand and some tweezers.

Next, her nose and mouth had a stream of blood running down it. Feeling up the bridge of her nose it, fortunately, wasn't broken but it sure did bleed a lot.

Her forehead had a small cut from where Hajime kicked her. While the injury itself was trivial, it wasn't indicative of damage done on the inside. With brain damage being a significant concern. Although nothing could be done if she were to suffer from it.

"Right." With a sigh, Hajime got started.

…

"Hey." Fuyuhiko lifted his head to see Akane staring back. Hajime was across the room and paid her entrance no heed - still operating. "Thought I would come see how you were doing."

"Oh… I'm okay." Fuyuhiko replied.

"Wow, real convincing!" Akane chuckled. "Hey, can I talk to you in private?"

Fuyuhiko shrugged, "I'm not really feeling up to going any- WOAH!? HEY!" Before he knew it, Akane was pulling him into the hall by the wrist.

"The hell Akane!?"

"Hajime we'll be right back!" She called out as they left.

…

"Okay, what the hell did you drag me out here for?" Fuyuhiko groaned as he scratched his chin. They both stood in the hallway for a while with neither saying anything. Which eventually got on Fuyuhiko's nerves.

"Well great, thanks for wasting my fucking time. Now if-"

"It's me." Akane's tone was flat, and voice muted compared to her usual lively, bounteous sound.

"Huh!?"

Akane rolled her eyes. "Seriously dude, it's just us. You don't have to keep up this tough guy act around me. I really don't care for it."

"What? I'm not…"

Suddenly Fuyuhiko was embraced by Akane. She brought him in close and tight, wrapping her muscular arms around him.

"A-A-Akane?" Fuyuhiko stammered.

"Come on man, I hate hugs just as much as you do so let's get this over with."

"What? Then why are you hugging me?"

She brought him in closer and tighter, "cause, you clearly need one."

Fuyuhiko's body relaxed, and Akane noticed him burying his head further into her shirt.

"**No… no… no… there's no reason for me to be upset."**

"_**There's every reason."**_

"**It would just be selfish for me to feel this way."**

"_**No, it wouldn't."**_

"**I… I… I…"**

"_**It's okay."**_

Fuyuhiko collapsed all his weight into Akane's arms. Giving in to all his doubts, insecurities and fears that had been piling up ever since Peko woke up and finally began to cry.

"I can't believe she would do that! Why!? I'm so mad at her! I want to yell and scream but I can't! I can't lose her… but I don't want to lose any of you either! WHAT THE FUCK WAS SHE THINKING?!"

His words were full of anger, hurt and frustration. He vented everything he couldn't admit to Peko's face.

"I thought everything would get better when she was around! But it's gotten so much worse! Koizumi's in despair, and we hate each other more than ever! Sonia got fucked up trying to stop Peko from killing her! And not to mention that Peko tried to kill Koizumi in the first place! And I…

…

…

I..

…

**I have no idea what to do."**

Akane breathed a much-needed sigh of relief. She was worried he was going to bottle all these feelings up, but it seemed he trusted her enough to let his troubles come tumbling forth.

"Goddammit… I'm so pathetic. Look at me!" Fuyuhiko furiously wiped the tears from his eyes.

"You're anything but. I'm sorry I didn't realize what an amazing person you are sooner."

After hearing such a heartfelt compliment, Fuyuhiko nearly recoiled. 'Who are you and what have you done with Akane!?' He thought to himself.

Finally looking up from his grief to face her; Fuyuhiko noticed she was blushing so hard that her whole face went tomato red. This put a delighted smile on Fuyuhiko's face seeing her in such a vulnerable state.

"So y-y-you feel better now?" Akane stuttered - still embarrassed about what she said.

"I guess... t-thanks." Now even Fuyuhiko was beginning to feel his cheeks go flush.

"Well, good… then get off me!" She pushed him back softly, but due to her strength and Fuyuhiko's small stature, he went flying into the wall – hitting it with a loud thud. "Fuyuhiko!" Akane cried out in a panicked state.

"Bahahahahaha! You fucking idiot!" Fuyuhiko cackled as he massaged his back. "Seriously, just how strong are you?!"

Akane smirked with an anything but a humble expression.

With a chuckle and happy sigh, Fuyuhiko crossed his legs and began fumbling with some of his stubble. He was lost in thought for some time. Time in which Akane took to sit down next to him. Together they stared out the hallway window watching the darkness of the storm swirl around them.

"Thanks," Fuyuhiko whispered.

"Yeah…" Akane replied.

"I'm sorry too."

Akane scrunched up her face in confusion, "about what?"

"I should have realized what an amazing person you are a whole lot sooner."

"Argh… shut up!" Akane could feel her cheeks begin to blush again. She punched him in the shoulder in retaliation although made extra sure to check her strength.

"Listen…" Fuyuhiko sighed as he nursed his arm. "I may need help with Peko in the future. Can you…"

Akane smiled. Happy that all the mushy and emotional stuff was over with. "Of course."

"Thanks." Fuyuhiko got up and offered Akane a hand to which she refused. Opting to sit and stay there for a little while longer. "Alright. I'll catch you around."

"Later." Akane gave a half-assed wave as he left. But just as he was about to turn the corner, Fuyuhiko hesitated.

"You really are looking out for us, aren't you?"

"Eh, I try."

Fuyuhiko nodded before knocking on the wood of the wall twice and taking his leave. Akane curled herself up into a ball. Leaving just an inch of space between her bangs and knees to still see out.

"I try… but I don't know if it's enough."

* * *

**Hajime & Fuyuhiko**

"That should about do it." With a final cut of the thread, it was finished. Peko was stitched back together, quite literally.

Fuyuhiko held back a relieved smile, having realized now wasn't the time. "Thanks, man. Seriously. I know after… what she's done it can't be easy giving a shit."

Hajime began to pack away his supplies with near certainty that he would need them later for his other two patients. "Yeah… I'm not going to lie. I'm mad as hell, but I know she's important to you so…"

"Again, let me just say I'm so, _**so**_ sorry."

"I'm not the one who needs an apology. Nor are you the one who needs to do it."

"Yeah…"

An awkward tension consumed the room and with it… a pang of guilt.

"Look," Hajime rubbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke. "I'm pissed okay! You would be too! But… that doesn't mean things can't get better."

Fuyuhiko coyly smiled. "I promise… no. We promise to make things right."

"I know you will."

* * *

**Sonia & Kazuichi**

It wasn't so much the pain that bothered Sonia as much as the horrible pit in her stomach that refused to go away did. It felt as if at any moment, everything would come to an end, and the world would collapse around her.

She remained against the shower wall with Kazuichi watching over her from the nearby doorway. Neither spoke, with only the occasional sounds of Sonia wincing in pain to break the tedium.

"Kazuichi…" Sonia murmured through a crackly throat. The metallic taste and texture of blood could still be felt whenever she swallowed.

Kazuichi jumped up in a panic. "Oh, yes! What's up!? What can I do!?"

"Could you please fetch me some water. I am quite parched."

"Of course! Right away, Miss Son- I mean Sonia." Kazuichi was embarrassed over his slip-up, but fortunately for him, Sonia tittered at his stumble of words.

He exited out of the bathroom before returning promptly, a glass of water in hand.

"Here, ya go." He placed it on the blood-tinged porcelain to find Sonia unenthusiastically staring back. She raised her glass ensnared hands to make her already obvious problem that much clearer.

"OH!" Kazuichi swallowed his words in guilty embarrassment. "Sorry."

He bent over and delicately rose the glass to her lips.

"Drink slow, okay?"

The whole exchange was overwhelming for Kazuichi. He couldn't explain why, but it was strangely embarrassing.

"Thank y_ou_." Sonia words were muffled as she wiped her lips on her shoulder.

Her brief moment of respite was over, and so Sonia returned to her torment. Closing her eyes and doing her best to deal with the agony. She didn't complain nor cry. She sat there as stoically as she could manage as to not worry Kazuichi. However, unfortunately for her, it was something Kazuichi had noticed when he saw her up close and already was formulating a plan to help.

He had no medical knowledge, nor any psychological tricks to dull the pain. He only had his wit, and so he improvised.

"Hey, Sonia."

She cocked her head, uneasily to face him.

"Give me one more truth, I promise whatever it is, I'll answer it."

He saw a spark of light in Sonia's otherwise dead eyes. It seemed even when in extreme pain, the possibility of getting such an attractive proposition was enough of an enticement to improve her dreary mood.

Sonia leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. A soft and breathy "hmmm" sighed through her closed mouth as she thought about all the possibilities.

"Kazuichi…" Sonia paused herself, even under the circumstances wondering if her question was appropriate or if it would be too cruel to ask such a thing.

"Hey, I said anything," Kazuichi said, seeing her uncertainty.

She bit at her bottom lip with guilty eyes. A sly smile slowly emerged on her lips.

"You never answered the question so… who do you like?"

A nervous laugh was all Kazuichi could muster in response. But as he thought about that person; he couldn't help an enormous grin take hold. There was certainly no denying it now, he had feelings for this person. The only issue for him was he felt stupid for liking them. He wasn't even sure if they liked him, let alone men.

He couldn't help it when his cheeks got redder when thinking of the prospect of telling someone. But then again… it was Sonia. He trusted her and even if he made a complete ass of himself, there was no way he would be in a worse situation than she was.

Kazuichi scratched at his chin and sighed, "If I tell you… do you promise not to make fun of me?"

"Do not say something so absurd! I would never antagonise the will of the heart!"

"Okay well…" Kazuichi could see her enthusiastically lean forward with an ear to ear grin, which wasn't helping his confidence. But he took comfort in knowing that at least he accomplished his original goal of distracting Sonia from the pain.

"Oh, screw it… the person I like. The person that I'm really looking forward to waking up it's-"

* * *

**Hajime**

As Hajime entered the jailcell room, an overwhelming urge to vomit overtook him. He recoiled while gagging at the stench. With an arm over his mouth and nose, he looked back inside to take a closer look…

"Take my picture! Make me suffer! Spread it! Come on! Do it!" Mahiru snickered while pointing at the camera, strapped around Yuki's shoulder via bandolier.

Her nude body was pressed against the bars, streaks of shit ran down her legs, and a puddle of piss rippled beneath her feet.

Yuki sat behind the blood-stained desk on a rickety stool that looked like it would collapse at any moment. Yuki's expression remained a blank kind of melancholy with just an ounce of anger behind it.

As Hajime entered with belated steps, Yuki did not turn to face him.

"She wants me to take pictures of her like this," Yuki said calmly. "Naked, covered in faeces and urine, making a complete mockery of herself. Why? So even if we help her, that horrible feeling of despair. The despair of embarrassment will never leave her."

Mahiru's face lit up after seeing him enter. "Hajime! Come on, you'll do it, won't you!? Don't you want to do it to me!?" The creature lurched at him through the bars.

Hajime approached with even more hesitation than before. With the feeling of horrible guilt beginning to eat away at him.

"I uh… need to get her restrained, so I can inspect her wounds. Can you help?" Hajime coyly asked Yuki.

"Hey, Hajime. Mahiru told me earlier she told you that she loves you, yet you ran off without a second thought. That true?" Yuki scowled at him as he spoke. It seemed he had already come to his own conclusions on the matter.

Hajime couldn't understand why Mahiru would admit to such an embarrassing thing as confessing your feelings to someone but quickly remembered she was in despair, of course, she would do that.

"You shouldn't believe everything she tells you," Hajime answered dismissively.

"Right…" Yuki nodded methodically with a horribly fake smile.

With a gulp Hajime pointed to Mahiru again, wanting to get started. Yuki got up and walked over to the cell without issue – seemingly ready.

As Hajime approached the cell door, about to open it. Yuki forcefully placed his hand on his chest, stopping him.

"You know, I warned you that something like this might happen if you didn't take better care of the people you wake up. Yet it seems you ignored my warnings."

Hajime turned to face away. "Want do you want from me, Yuki? I feel horrible about this whole situation if that makes you feel better."

"I wonder if you feel worse than Mahiru does…"

'What a stupid thing to say…' Hajime thought to himself. "I'm trying my best."

Yuki lightly snorted at his admission. He took his hand off Hajime's chest with a sigh and without warning, opened the cell door.

…

To their shared surprise, Mahiru didn't put up a fight – allowing herself to be handcuffed to the cell's bed. Her ankles and wrists were tightly locked into the iron cuffs.

"Okay, I guess I'll-"

Yuki left. He didn't bother to hear what Hajime had to say, nor if anything was still required of him.

"Where are you going?" Hajime asked with a smidgen of annoyance behind his tone.

"To take a shower and get all of this literal shit off me. Why do you care?"

"Of course, I care."

Yuki continued to face his back towards him. He stood there for a few moments, as if he was going to say something but eventually decided not to. With heavy steps, he went to leave.

As Yuki closed the door behind him, under his breath, he finally murmured his true feelings.

"Try better."

Without knowing if he was meant to hear that comment or not, Hajime decided to ignore it. Finding no purpose in trying to justify his opinions. For now, he was here to help Mahiru, and that's precisely what he was going to do.

…

Each time Mahiru went to taunt, swear, insult or something of that variation Hajime would interrupt with a simple, "I'm sorry." And while this tactic didn't stop the miserable creature from relentlessly continuing with its belittlement. It did seem to slow the pace in which insults were hurled, which helped.

What didn't help was the horrible stench of faeces and urine permeating throughout the room. Nor the fact that his patient was naked and keenly aware of this fact. Flaunting and mocking the sexual nature of what had occurred without the context of how it took place.

"You have a naked girl strapped down to a bed, and you're not going to fuck her!? What kind of pussy are you?! BAHAHAHA!" Mahiru would cry with an overly forced laugh.

Oddly enough, her horribly crass language, soiled appearance and over the top ranting created a creature that was hard to still see as Mahiru. Which is one part helpful but in another… terrifying.

He made a conscious effort to ignore everything she said, her droning eventually became nothing more than white noise. Afterall her words were not her own. Or at least Hajime hoped.

…

It was a surprisingly quick job, although not very easy under the current conditions. He stitched up her hand with relative ease since she had wounds resembling Peko's. Other small cuts were found around her body from where she had cut herself. Whether it was pre or post despair was unknown, but they, fortunately, weren't too deep. After being disinfected, they would heal just fine with minimal scarring.

Apart from those, her throat was bruised. Her voice now sounded as if she smoked six packs a day for the past five years. He would have liked to get her neck in a cast if possible, but alas, they did not have any.

With a sigh of tremendous relief, having realized he could now leave this disgusting room, Hajime relaxed onto the stool he had brought from the desk.

Mahiru continued to glare at him as he took this moment of rest. Her gaze was unnerving but tolerable. She wasn't saying anything for a change as the two stared into each other's eyes for some time.

He couldn't explain why he was doing so, nor why she was. He could only acknowledge that it was happening and hope for the best. There was still a small shard of hope that Hajime clutched too, in hopes of saving Mahiru from herself.

_**"I once freed myself from despair a long time ago…"**_

Sonia's words stuck with Hajime even after all this time.

A way to free someone of despair via a strong connection to their old self.

And while he still couldn't comprehend Mahiru's reasoning, she did seem to have an affinity toward him.

"_**Hajime… I love you."**_

Although he found it nearly indulgent to think such a thing. Afterall hearing those words so suddenly after thinking you're worthless for so many years, after thinking you are unworthy of love, to get a confession out of the blue. How was he meant to take it but consider it a mistake of some kind?

"Mahiru…" Hajime whispered as he held her restrained hand. He could feel the coarseness of the stitches beneath his palm. "I'm here. You're going to be okay."

"H-Hajime…?" She meekly whispered back.

"Mahiru-!" Was she okay? Perhaps his half-baked theory bore fruit after all.

Hajime leaned in closer.

"Is that really you, I thought that-"

***PTUI!***

The creature spat in his face before roaring into laughter.

"You fucking idiot! What!? You thought making googly eyes at me would help?! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!"

She continued to chant as Hajime left with heavy steps, utterly defeated.

"I'm sorry…"

"IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!"

"I don't know if I did this to you…"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! NO ONE CARES!"

"Maybe I was just part of it…"

"YOU'RE STUPID! AND UGLY! EVERYONE HATES YOU!"

"But I should have done better.

"YOU SHOULD KILL YOURSELF! YOU DESERVE TO DIE, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!"

"I'll save you, Mahiru. I promise. I mean after all, who else will I be able to talk to so casually with if you're not around."

"FUCK YOU! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! YOU'RE GOING TO DIE! SONIA IS GOING TO DIE! I'M GOing to.. die…" She trailed off into silence and Hajime took the opportunity to leave. He packed up what was left of his supplies and left behind various used pieces of gauze and such with the justification that he'll clean it up later.

"I'll see you soon, Mahiru."

"…"

No reply.

"Hopefully, with Saionji."

Mahiru's ears pricked to the sound of her name. Her face said it all, for the briefest second she looked like Mahiru again before the creature regained control.

As Hajime closed the door behind him, leaving Mahiru locked to the bed for the rest of the night. A strange feeling passed over him. One that he couldn't quite describe with such a simple term as sympathy. It felt as if he looked at someone who had lost everything, and when they thought things couldn't get worse, they did.

'_This sad and broken woman._

_Such a far departure of her true self._

_Could the word despair truly describe the manner of her personal hell.'_

With the door now shut firmly behind him and a deadbolt on the outside slid into place. There was no escaping the fact.

Mahiru was alone.

* * *

**Hajime**

When Hajime got back, he was relieved to find Sonia in the same condition as he left her. He profusely thanked Kazuichi for doing his job and comforted them both that the other two would be okay.

But as for Sonia… things would have to get a lot worse before they would get better.

"Okay... Bite down on this."

Sonia's entire body was quivering at the prospect of what was to come. Hajime could even hear her teeth chatter together before she bit down on the wooden spatula.

Kazuichi got into position next to Sonia. His job was to hold her still as Hajime operated. He held down her forearms on the lip of the bathroom sink.

"I-Is that okay?" He nervously asked.

Sonia nodded while inhaling and exhaling frantic breaths through her nostrils. It was a rather uncomfortable position, but that wasn't exactly one of Sonia's top priorities right now.

"Alright…" Hajime slipped on a pair of latex gloves and went around to the opposite end of the sink from where Sonia was leaning.

He had to forcibly remove the chunk of glass from Sonia's hands.

The glass was around four centimetres wide at its base and two centimetres wide at its jagged edge. The object pierced in between her index and middle finger on her right hand near the knuckles. It then went straight through and penetrated into a similar position in her left, although closer to her wrist. With the glass now protruding from either side and causing her hands to be sandwiched together.

Unfortunately, without proper surgery, there was no right way to go about removing it.

It merely had to be yanked out.

With an affirming nod to Kazuichi Hajime went to begin.

"Listen. When we start, we can't stop until it's removed. No matter how much it hurts."

She didn't answer. He took the desperate silence as agreement.

"On three…"

Hajime readied his two hands around the glass, getting a firm grip on it. Sonia already began to wince at the slight shift of weight.

"**One… Two… Three!"**

With a mighty tug, Hajime began to pull. As he did so, the unfortunate reality of the situation dawned on him. He would have to cause Sonia incredible pain to help her. A fact Sonia's pained groans were a tribute to.

The glass was not coming as quickly as he had hoped.

It wasn't going to be as simple as removing a carefully made blade. This was a broken piece of glass; it's edging rough and jagged. But there were no other options. It had to be done.

So…

Hajime pulled harder.

Sonia's muffled squeals reverberated around the bathroom as he continued to tug. Saliva drooled off the corners of her mouth and down her chin. Any kind of dignified appearance she would have liked to maintain was eradicated in her agony.

The wound finally began to give leeway, and the red tint of glass could be seen slowly protruding from her palm.

"Okay… you're doing great. You're doing great." Hajime tried to comfort her but had no idea if it was helping. It's not like he could exactly ask…

It took a bit more pulling, but her left hand was finally free. Which came as a massive relief to everyone involved. Sonia looked especially pleased with the development, or at least until she realized there was still one hand to go.

But there was a problem.

It was stuck again.

Hajime checked the wound, letting Sonia's free hand wander to the basin below to be rinsed under cold water. It stung a little bit but felt good at the same time.

On the side of the shard. A small triangle type shape protruded in the opposite direction from whence the glass penetrated. This morbid detail is what caused Sonia's hand to be stuck together by the weapon in the first place. Because the shard was not so much shaped like a dagger as it was a hook. A hook that was now firmly lodged between Sonia's fingers.

"Oh, no…" Hajime muttered under his breath.

"WHAA!?" Sonia groaned with the spatula still tightly wedged between her jaw.

"It's fine…" Hajime forced a smile. "We're almost there, okay. No stopping now."

Sonia nodded with a newfound determination. He felt bad about lying to her but stating that this was going to hurt even more wouldn't have done any good.

Hajime exchanged a wide-eyed look with Kazuichi while Sonia examined her free hand. He shook his head very slightly, giving Kazuichi a small idea of what was going to happen next. Kazuichi tightened his grip on Sonia's wrist in preparation.

"I'm sorry, Sonia."

"Huuh!?"

Before Sonia got the chance to decrypt the meaning behind his apology, Hajime jerked the glass, getting a good amount of progress straight off the bat. But causing excruciating pain to shoot down Sonia's arm.

Her muffled cries were louder now. Much louder.

He continued to pull, needing a decent amount of strength now to get the hook all the way through her hand. He felt it as it clipped past a finger bone, but if that was the case, it should be practically out with nearly no resistance left. Instead, Hajime was feeling himself having more difficulty than before.

He tugged harder, then harder. Harder still.

The hook of the glass shard finally began to emerge from under her skin but… caught in its trap were some her index finger's tendons. The red string-like sinew bent under strain like a rubber band.

Kazuichi gagged at the gruesome sight.

Sonia's muffled screams were suddenly made much louder when she spit out the spatula with enough force to send it flying across the room.

"STOP!" She cried. "IT HURTS! IT HURTS SO MUCH! STOP! PLEASE STOP!"

Her legs began to numb, and she felt faint. This overwhelming pain was too much for her to bear. What finally sent her over the edge though was not another influx of pain but the absence of it. Hajime untangled her tendon from the hook and like that the rest of the glass came effortlessly.

Finally, she was free.

And with that nearly orgasmic high of her ordeal being over; Sonia passed out.

* * *

Sonia began to stir into consciousness. She felt the fuzzy warmth of a duvet wrapped around her and the droning sound of rain in the background.

She opened her eyes with a bit of discomfort. Feeling that they were swollen from crying so much. Once fully open, she found an unfamiliar ceiling there to greet her.

"Hey." His voice was warm and relaxed.

"Hajime?" Sonia asked as she turned to examine her surroundings.

They were in a strange room. It was small with stray electronic cords littering the ground around them. Against the wall sat a large desk with many monitors affixed in an arc above it. Apart from that oddity, the only other things of note were a small window and door that was barricaded by a chair jammed under its handle.

"Where are we?" Sonia went to sit up, but Hajime gestured for her to lie back down.

"We're in the room that monitors the simulation. We're a little tight on space, so this is the only place I could find with some privacy."

Sonia noticed a mattress beneath her and a pillow supporting her head. That's when she suddenly remembered everything that happened. She untangled her hands from beneath the sheets to look.

To her surprise - stark white bandages were wrapped around her palms.

"I don't know if you remember, but you passed out. So, while you were unconscious, I stitched up your hands and bandaged them for good measure."

Sonia's eyes lit up big and bright, like a puppy.

"That's right. It's all over now. No more surgery. No more pain. I promise."

Sonia lurched forward and hugged him around his waist. "Oh, thank god. It is over!"

He patted her head with a delighted smile. Sonia's ability to bounce back from a terrible situation was awe-inducing. "You were really brave. An absolute badass. One thing, though…"

He lay her back down but held up her right hand. He lightly pressed against the bandages, which made her wince. "Sorry about that. Now, can you move your fingers for me?"

She didn't question his request and curled her fingers and thumb into a fist without issue. Although it did sting a bit.

"Thank goodness." Hajime breathed a sigh of relief. "I was a little worried that I may have severed a tendon."

Hajime quickly realized his mistake as Sonia looked horrified at her own hand. She moved each finger individually to make extra sure that everything was okay. With the confidence that she was all right, her hand fell back down onto her chest.

"Why did you bring me here?" Sonia asked now curious about her surroundings.

Hajime didn't reply right away. He took some time to lie down next to the mattress. She couldn't imagine him being comfortable on the floor, with all the cords around.

"I wanted to make sure you're okay. You've been through a lot so… I thought I'd bring you somewhere safe. Somewhere small and dark and secure. Oh yeah, that's the reason I barricaded the door in case you were wondering."

"Oh, I see… that makes sense."

"So… are you okay?"

This time Sonia was the one not replying.

Instead, Hajime found her to be tugging at his t-shirt's sleeve with slightly red cheeks that transitioned to tomato red as she spoke. "It must be uncomfortable on the ground, so… if you would like to…" she coyly lifted the duvet. It was so rare for Sonia to act shy about something, but that made it so much cuter.

"Ah, oh… i-it's okay."

Hajime began to panic internally. He wasn't mentally ready for this kind of stimulation. Sure, they had shared a bed together a few times before, but it had always been a double bed with plenty of space between them. Sure, they had slept close together in the guardhouse when they were stuck in the rain, but this felt a lot different.

_***zzzzzz – CRACK!***_

Any deliberation was interrupted by a furious roar of thunder hurdling through the building.

"Woah…" Hajime muttered in awe, but as he looked to see Sonia's reaction, he noticed she was quivering. Her eyes were closed tightly shut and face pale. "Oh… I see."

…

While petrified with fear, Sonia felt the warm embrace of Hajime's body next to hers. The mattress shifted under his weight, and she felt the blanket nearly escape her grasp when he took a half for himself. Any terror she once had she found begin to evaporate at his presence.

"_So cute…"_

"Pardon?"

"Oh, nothing."

Sonia could have sworn he said something but decided to let it go.

"I never would have pegged you as someone afraid of thunder."

He was lying. He totally thought she was the type.

"I am sorry! I know it is a silly thing to be afraid of, although. When I was a child… wait… no… I apologise you probably want to sleep."

"No, go ahead. I like learning new things about you."

Sonia hid a smile.

"Well… When I was a child, I lived in a big castle. It was a wonderful place to grow up. Although large and lavish, it always felt like home to me. The only problem was my sleeping quarters were situated in the highest room of the tallest tower. A tower so tall that it acted as a lightning rod of sorts. I would often be awakened to the sound of thunder or the feeling of my room shaking."

She paused her story to see if Hajime was still listening. She noticed him lightly caressing her shoulder, which confirmed to her that he was.

"Then on one fateful night. During a particularly bad storm, my tower was struck with the might of Zeus himself. Then it was, as they say, the needle that broke the camels' back. The tower shook so violently that it dislodged a rather large brick from the ceiling that came crashing down next to me. I was almost crushed in my sleep, but I, fortunately, got **lucky**. It landed a shy distance away, bouncing me straight out of bed and onto the floor.

…

Ever since then, I have been terrified of thunder."

It was always a humbling experience for Hajime to be reminded of the luxurious life Sonia once came from but more importantly than that he could very easily understand her aversion now.

"Yeah, that would have been really scary."

He noticed Sonia nod with a slight huff through her nostrils.

They remained in silence for a time. Hajime ran his fingers through her silky blonde hair as a gentle reminder that he was there for her.

"Hajime…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not okay."

Hajime knew she wouldn't be okay after everything that happened. But at the very least he was happy she was finally talking about it.

Sonia huffed again, he realized she was on the brink of tears.

"Once again, we were betrayed by one of our friends."

"…"

"It is like we never left the killing game. We are still hurting each other."

"…"

"Peko… she… she…"

Hajime cuddled up as close as he could. Wrapping his arm around her lower torso and continuing to caress her hair with his other.

"SHE TRIED TO KILL ME! Did our years of friendship mean nothing! Were we even friends? I do not know anymore!"

"It's okay."

"Am I so awful!? Why is it whenever I get close to someone, they end up hurting me… intentionally or not… It always ends in so much pain."

"I'm so sorry."

"Peko, Mahiru, Gundham, Mikan… Chiaki. Why do they always hurt me? Why do they always leave?"

Hajime didn't answer her questions. There didn't need to be one, there wasn't one. She simply needed to let these feelings out.

"Maybe I am the problem… maybe I drive them all away with my intricacies. Maybe even now I'm driving you away. Perhaps you will leave me as well before too long…"

Sonia Nevermind.

The beautiful, smart and talented princess.

Her life must be perfect.

She is perfect.

While she may appear as such. Or even wish too. She is anything but.

In the end, she as scared, self-conscious and confused as the rest of us. Perhaps even more so.

Hajime couldn't help but notice how nice she smelt. And she was so warm and soft. He was starting to see the appeal of cuddling. But more importantly, he felt that he was in the right place at the perfect time. If there was ever a moment, he considered himself to be lucky, this was it. To be there for Sonia in her time of need. That meant everything.

"You know…" Sonia could feel his soft breaths filter through her hair and onto the back of her neck, his slow and methodical heartbeat thump on her back and his soft fingertips course through her hair. "You never let me answer Kazuichi's question earlier. You interrupted us before we finished. Why was that?"

Sonia recalled the conversation earlier that night:

"_Just uh… tell me one thing. Do you love her?"_

"_Do I love, Sonia? …Well… I…"_

"Because… I didn't want you to say something you would come to regret."

Any courage Hajime had he mustered, and he prayed to God he wouldn't stutter.

"**Well… do you want me to answer his question?"**

Sonia stayed silent for a long time. He noticed her posture stiffen and curl into herself a bit.

"Well, I don't think I've ever said it outright to you yet, so here it goes: Sonia, I love you."

He heard her begin to softly whimper, so he made sure to hold her that bit tighter.

"I know it hurts being betrayed so many times. I know it hurts when friendships end and you've been lied to. But please know that none of it is your fault."

Her whimpers developed to sobbing. Hajime leaned on his elbow to get a little above her and whispered in her ear everything that he thought she might need to be reminded of.

"You are a wonderful person, and I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world for getting the opportunity to have met you."

"Why!?" Sonia sobbed. "Why did she try to kill me!? Why did Mahiru have to fall to despair!? Why am I so pathetic and weak? I should have never let that happen."

"You're trying your best. Remember, that's what you said all that time ago back in the simulation. We should do our best."

"…You remember?"

"Of course, I do. Cause it's what we all needed and it's exactly what you need to hear right now."

Sonia's crying softened until it eventually ceased. She turned onto her other side to face Hajime. Her eyes were red and puffy with tired black rings circling them. Yet like always she looked so incredibly beautiful.

"It's so hard, Hajime."

"I know. But I'm here for you, and you're here for me, right?"

Sonia was so damn sick of crying. So sick of being hurt, time and time again. Yet Hajime remained such an incredible pillar of support through it all. There could only ever be one answer to a question like that.

Hajime looked exhausted with dark rings circling his eyes and face a little pale. Yet the smile he wore was so amazing. In times like these, Sonia was reminded of just how handsome Hajime really was.

Sonia nuzzled her head under his chin and against his neck, hiding her blushing cheeks into his shirt. "I love you too."

Hajime tried to hide his own embarrassed excitement, but he couldn't help it when an enormous, dorky grin took hold.

"I know it's hard to believe sometimes. But everything is going to be okay." Hajime whispered into her forehead before kissing it.

This overwhelming feeling of safety. This warmth and happiness.

"Love truly is a wonderful thing." Sonia kissed the words into Hajime's lips. She held him there for a while enjoying every moment of it. Until an obtrusive thought interrupted her wandering tongue.

"Who are we waking tomorrow?" Sonia asked, a little panicked.

Hajime's elated smile changed into a rather sombre frown. "Ibuki is next in line, but I think if Mahiru sees Hiyoko, it might help. So… I don't know."

"Both?" Sonia smiled.

"Both!?" Hajime dragged the palm of his hand down his whole face. "It's not going to be easy."

"No, it's not." Yet as Sonia said those words, she looked entirely confident.

"Something might go wrong…"

"Maybe… but you think this is the best course of action, yes?"

"I do but-"

Sonia tapped him on his chest with her fingertips. "Then I think that is what we should do. I trust you."

Hajime's guilty conscious coerced him to reconsider. "But… I might be wrong."

"You maybe." Sonia applied pressure on his chest to lead him to lie back down. She got her upper body above him and put her hand on his cheek as she gazed down lovingly. "But you are trying your best, and that is all we can ask for."

Hajime relaxed his head against the pillow and sighed with a smile. "I guess you're right."

Sonia also rested her head but on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat was soothing to her, although she couldn't explain why.

"We shall welcome back two of our friend's tomorrow. I am looking forward to it. We will do better."

"We will." Hajime's eyes lit up a little. Seeing them again sounded really nice. "I'm really looking forward to seeing Ibuki. Her positive attitude will help."

Sonia giggled into his chest. "You are not the only one. Someone is really looking forward to her return as well."


	20. Libido

**Day Seven**

**Fuyuhiko**

Where's Peko?

I think I saw her, but then I didn't.

Like a little squiggle in your iris.

Can never see it clearly.

She should be around.

Where's Peko.

Is she dead?

No…

Couldn't be.

You got 'a be alive at some point to have that pleasure.

Where is she?

Oh.

I found her.

She's dead.

I killed her.

We were just talking.

I don't know what happened.

She was gone.

She was alive.

She was dead.

I killed her.

But she was never alive.

So why does that matter?

Or maybe for the first time ever…

She was…

…

I hear a sou̴̡͈͇̺̱͇̥̠̲͋̅͌̐n̴͈̖̖̺̮̟̉͐͜͜d.

…

No…

Couldn't be.

Sh̴̠̄e's here.

I'm scared.

Help m̴̗̋e̸̠̎.

Oh god.

Please.

Sơ̷͙m̵͉̌eone.

I know what this is.

I d̸͉̱͒̓̑k̷̟͂ǭ̶̹̎̋n̸̘̈́o̶̮̰̖͆w̷̠̟͙̕t̵̜̿͆̓ what this is.

I don't want to go back.

I don't want to go back

I don't want t̸̟̘̉̐̓o̷̧̹̤̐͒ go back.

S̵͔͔͖͛h̶̡̬̠͌e̴͉̲̭̅͂ reaches out.

A manicured h̷̘͑͂C̵̡͙̅ȃ̷̢̙̈L̷̢̋n̷̤̝͒A̴̟͘d̷̳̠̓̇W̵̢̉͊.

Prim and proper.

I can't fight h̸̟̮͝ḛ̴͈́ȑ̶̤͝.

Not again.

S̴̘͑̈́h̶̙̅̈́e̵̖̤̋̌ never dies.

Immortal cunt.

S̷̩̯̰͇͙̬͓̼̈h̴͇̥͈͊͂͊͑͋͛̚͠e̷͕̻̽̈́'s is in all of us.

S̵̡͉͓̜͚̺̤̈́h̴̡̨̫̖̯̺̓ȩ̷̫͇͕͖̤̻͑͂̔͐͠ reaches ǫ̴̟̖̝̿̕ǘ̴͔̘̓͐̄̀͂͝t̵̥͔̽.

A̸͈̥̥̬̓͑͒̽̓̍͜ͅņ̶̯̰̯͖̘̊̈́̈̃d̴̩̉̋̊̄̍͌̀ ̷̹͔̓́͋̉̎̿͜͠Ǐ̸͕̱͔̖̙̹̥̐̇̂̂̍͊…̵͙͚͎̀̈́́̚͝…

…̸͔͖̼̲̎̀͑

…̴̠̱͋

…̵̡͔̰͋̈́̾̈́͑͝.̶̡̙̌.̶̭̩̩̫̃.̴̹̬̬̖͌͌̇͛̎.̵̛̙̞͍̥̹̓͌̇͜͝.̴̬̻̘̝͌.̵͍̄͘.̶͚͔́͊.̷̹̐̐͛̌̋͝.̶̻͕̯̩̇͛̈́̇.̸̧̙͒.̴̘̹͇̼̀.̸̲̝͇̿̆͊̀͝.̴̧͖̄͑͛͑͌.̶̗͍̋̃̓̕.̵͕͗͝͠.̴̭̻̥̝̫̈́̔͜͠.̷͖̝̹̔́̋̈́.̴̢̹͕̏͊͘͝͠.̴̦͉̳̫̙͕͆̆̓͗͝͝.̷͇̋.̴͔̊.̷̻͍̺̝̦̝̓̎.̴̛͕͌̈̓.̶͎̼͇̺̭̪͋.̷̩̮̈́.̸̱͒̑̒͝.̴̞̳͖̪̏͑̐̉͐.̷̧͚̅͌̈́͒̓.̷̧̦̪̝̻̌͊̉.̴̯̪͎̈́͜.̸̙̊̃̇̈́.̷̛̫̤͉̟̙̅̾̇͗͛.̸̡̡̣͙̯͑͂͜.̴̯̦͛̈̋̓.̸̦̪̻̂.̸̨̼̙̩̜̈́̉̅́̚.̶̧̞̹̱̭̆.̸̝̐̒͆.̶̧̞͕̞̀̌̎̇̍.̶͖͖̝̣̏̎̐̈́̕.̵͍̂̅̾̑̕ͅ.̸̩̇̐.̴̢͙̌.̸̀̋̚͜.̷̞̳̆̃͠.̷̜͍̣͖̎̿̀̎.̵͚̮͔̦͒̂.̵̞̫̓̑̎͗́͘.̷̨̜̭̋.̷̢̘͌̉.̶͇̰̙͖͍͐͝.̸̟̱̣̫͛͛̐̔.̸̭̺̰̮̗͆͂̀̇͜͠͝.̶͇̃̽̅.̶͙̞́̓͋̇͊̕.̴̢͖̞́͛.̷̳͕̓̽.̴̨͆̄̑͝.̴̰̠̪̠̭̉̑͘̚.̴͇͚̻͗͝ͅ.̷̲͚̣̺̪̺͠.̶̰̱͒̈̈́.̸̖̥̊̇͌.̴͇̝̯͙͑̍͗͊́̕.̵̰̝͓̖̗̂͗͆̂̕ͅ.̶̢͇̼̤̥͑̅̈́̎.̷̤̀̃̏.̷̫͈̩͎͖̺̈́̌̋̈́̚͘.̵͇̠͙͓̠̫͂͛͊̑͌̆.̵̛̬͕̣̠͕́̏͐.̴̧̦̖͖̠̠͐͐̏̍͐̑.̵̧̰̪̩̅.̷̖͙̓̐͆̍͜͠.̶̯͍̮̣̇́̃̇.̵͚͂̏̚͝.̷̱̳̄͌͛́̉.̷̛̞̐.̸̬͙̑͌̈́̓͘͝.̷̫͐.̸̣̝͍̣̗͇̓̀.̶͍͎̘́.̶̫͆́̀̄̅.̵̖̣́̾.̶̝̮̬̾̈́̏͆.̵̧͙̬̖̺́̇̿.̴͔̏͆̽̅̈́̚.̸̩̮̏͘.̸̼̱̺̒̄̃̅̚͝.̷͍̅͋.̸̧̳͙͂͂.̶̩̞̣̫̝̭̀.̴̡̝̗̑̓͑.̷̥̽.̶̭͎̮̹̮̓ͅ.̶̺͒.̷̨͓̗̀̈́̾̈͑.̵̲̌̍̎̓̉.̶̝̮̰͖́̐̒ͅ.̸̡̩̯̮̫̬̀͐͠.̶̘̹̲͗̑̾̽̎.̷͔͇̾̓͋̍͜.̴̻̳̘͎̾͗͋̿.̶̞̪̀̔͆̊.̶̗̹̲̪̌̆͗̂.̷̢̼̜̚

N̶̻̭͐͊̎͠͠o…

NO!

I won't let h̸͇̮̞̰̯͉̋̀̚͝e̴̥͌̕r̷̤̠͙̓͆̊̌̕.

Fuck h̸̨͍̪͖͊͒̒̕e̷͎̬͑r̶̖̄̍̂̕.

Fuck y̸̤̹̐͊̀͌͘o̷͍̗͈͇̾͊̿́ͅu̸̞̦̯͕͉͝.

Fucking ḅ͙̹̰̆͊͗į̶̨̟̼̔͋ţ̸͔̞̗̦̩́͗͌̇c̸͎̎́h̴̘̘̮̪̑͑̎̒̐͜.

Y̶̮̪̹̗̍̈͗̊̾͘ǫ̶͇̳̠͑͗͗̂u̴̬̬͕̖̎̽ won't have me again.

Not again…

Anything but that.

ANYTHING.

BUT.

T̸͍̖̅̓H̵͚͇̄:̶̕͜ͅ)̴̢͗̍A̷͖̽̃T̴̏͗͜.̶̨̱̈

I guess that only leaves ȍ̶̡̓:̴̤̝̈́)̸̗̆n̸͖͐̚ȇ̴͎̿ option.

I'll go join Peko.

I love you Peko.

I love you so much.

…

…

…

…

I

LOVE

YOU

J̸̡̢̢̛͍̫͔̲͙̜̣͚͔̦̰̺̹̣̥̙̪̑͋̈̃̈́̈̓̃́̍͑̀̌͊͑̿̊͗̎̒̅̏͋̋̃͑̂͒̽̚̕͠͠͝͠Ȗ͙͈̜̉͊̄͑̑̀́̓̈́͠Ņ̸̳̞̲̠̱̥̯͇̤̩̤̦͈̺͍̥͍̤̣̺͇̖̽̆̓p̵̨̘̲͚̙͕̹̼̝̭̩̯̻̫̙̬̞͍̭̬̍̑͝ͅͅȩ̶̢̧̢̢̛̱̦̫͓̜̖̻̥̫̯̜͙͇̟͙͔̹̰̘͍̝͎̘̊̿̆́̆̂̀̑̉̽̎̏̉̈́̀̍͗̓̈́̃͂̒̀̓̔̒̋̊̅̓̊̂̌͑͊̉̅͊̀̌̍̊̕̕̕͠͠K̴̢̪̯̟͕̲̞̠͖̰̰̺̬̰̻͚͈̜͈̘͕̗̥̱̬̘̳̜̬͓͇̜̗̼̹̪͉̭͙̬͈̖͎̒̉̿Ơ̷̰̙̜̠̞͙̈́͆̋́͑͑͗̒̒́̓͆̒̔̄͂͒͒͐̌̒̃̓͊̀̇͠.̶̡̡̧̢̨̛̯͍̼̩̫͍͙͙̯͙͔̮̩̠̻̦̫̗̣̣͎̯̟̰͍͖̪̩̳̯̜̬̪̲̤͕́̓̈́̈͛̽͒̿̾̿̄̎͊͐̓͂̊̄̽̚̕̚͜͜͠

* * *

**Sonia & Hajime**

His heartbeat continued to comfort Sonia throughout the night. Even when the thunder would bellow, it would stay consistent and soothing. His steady tempo eventually lulled her into a much-needed sleep.

When Sonia finally awoke, she found herself feeling much better. Except for her aching hands, she felt rejuvenated and re-energized, ready to take on whatever the world had to offer; because there was no way it would be worse than yesterday. Although she didn't say that out loud as to not jinx it.

The heavy rain pitter-pattered on the small glass window with soft beams of morning sun shining in through the clouds. They lit up Hajime's sleeping face. His expression looked quiet and tranquil compared to his usually concerned gaze.

Sonia smiled at the sight of seeing him so relaxed and couldn't help but poke his cheek with her finger.

'So cute!' Sonia giggled to herself.

She relaxed back into the groove of his chest she had been sleeping on. It wasn't precisely comfortable resting her head on a ribcage, but it was certainly worth it to hear the supportive sound of his heartbeat.

Sonia eased her cheek into the groove when…

**_*SQUEELCH*_**

"A..A…AHH-" Sonia had to cover her mouth from screaming. She had found what made that strange sound: Where she had been laying a rather large puddle of drool had formed. A lukewarm pool of spit now sat upon Hajime's chest.

Sonia's mind went into overdrive.

**_'W-w-what do I do!? He cannot find out that I drool when I sleep! Princesses do not drool! I…I…I… I cannot handle that kind of embarrassment!'_**

Sonia had to clutch at the sides of her head to keep it from falling off.

**_'Calm down, Sonia. Just think up an elaborate plan to-'_**

"Oh, hey," Hajime began to stir awake. "Good morning –"

**_*PTUU!*_**

They both froze in place, neither having any idea what to do next.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"S-Sonia?"

"Yes?"

"Did you just… did you spit on me?"

**_'I PANICKED! I PANICKED! I PANICKED! QUICK, THINK OF AN EXCUSE!'_**

Sonia raised a finger to her lips and puffed out her chest.

"Ohhh, yeah. You l-like that?"

**. . .**

Hajime pinched his cheek to make sure he wasn't still dreaming.

"N-No… NO! Of course not!"

Sonia's alluring gaze quickly became tear-filled frustration. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I am so sorry!" She was genuinely upset about this embarrassing turn of events, but a small smile still cracked through at just how silly it all was. "I drooled in my sleep, and I didn't want you to find out… so I may have… tried to…" She pushed her two index fingers to form a triangle as she spoke. Her bright red cheeks lit up her pale skin. "Cover my tracks, so to speak."

"So, you spat on me?"

She nodded with an involuntary squeak.

Hajime sat up in bed as he scratched at his mess of hair. "Well… I don't really care if you drool…" Sonia's face saw visible relief. "I mean, at least it's not as bad as your snoring."

And like that her rosy cheeks went to a ghostly white. It seemed Sonia's soul left her body momentarily, most likely too mortified to be held captive any longer.

"Oh my god, I'm kidding!" Hajime muffled his laughs behind the palm of his hand.

Sonia pouted, but to her dismay, his laughter wouldn't cease. "This is no laughing matter, Hajime!" Sonia cried.

"Alright, alright!" Hajime did his best to stifle his laughter although he couldn't help the goofy grin. He looked down at the wet patch on the belly of his shirt. He could even feel the dampness on his skin which meant one of two things: Either Sonia drooled to an inordinate amount - or she spat such a large glob of saliva that it went straight through the cotton. Both scenarios were equally entertaining in Hajime's mind.

He decided that the stain was too noticeable and not worth the effort of trying to conceal it.

Meanwhile, Sonia watched on from the bedside, kneeling next to the mattress on the cord laden floor. She was still pouty after all that happened by those feelings were quickly replaced with far more… complicated ones, as she watched Hajime pull off his shirt. He faced away, giving Sonia a perfect view of his muscular back. A few small beads of sweat careened off his trimmed shoulder blades, and a little mole could be seen peeking out next to his spine.

He looked good.

Really good.

Although not perfect.

A scatter of miscoloured blemishes littered his back from where various cords had penetrated and torn. It was as if someone had flicked an off shade of miscoloured paint that fused with his skin. Tens of little splotches. But, if he had them, then that would only mean one thing; she did too.

Just another reminder to add to the collection.

What bothered her was that the rest of him was perfect.

Burns, scars, tattoos, nothing like that was there to remind of him what he had done.

Like a switch being flipped Sonia's thoughts turned from marvel of his form to loathsome jealousy.

Whenever she looked down, in the back of her mind, she expected to see something different - but as always - the scrambled mess of flesh tearing up her thighs was there to greet her. And resting atop were her hands. Blood soaked bandages ensnared them, with gnarly puked coloured puss beginning to surface beneath them.

'These wounds too shall leave scars, won't they?' Sonia confided the thought in herself.

Hajime turned around; his bare chest now exposed.

It was the same thing.

He looked fine… hell, better than fine. He looked good. The infancy of muscles could be seen jutting out from beneath his healthy-looking skin. Dark thoughts were beginning to swirl like a storm.

The green bellied monster had begun to hook its claws into Sonia's psyche when suddenly…

"Eh, he!" Hajime gave a cheeky grin before collapsing back into the covers. His smile lit up the room and in a one-hit-K.O. defeated that green beast called jealousy.

Sonia realized she was unreasonable at best. It wasn't his fault, nor intention that he ended up the way he did. Nor was it her own.

"I'm sorry," Sonia mumbled.

"Hmm? Sorry for what?"

Sonia rested her head back against his chest, and the steady thump of his heartbeat became audible once again. With a satisfied huff, she spoke, "Never mind."

It would take them a few more minutes before they finally began dragging themselves out of bed. The first thing to do was to replace the blood-tinged bandages around Sonia's hands. The stitches held overnight to Sonia's relief which meant that after applying a new set of dressings; she was good to go about the rest of her day.

It was especially **lucky** that he wouldn't need to operate since all the **pain medication had suddenly gone missing.**

Hajime opted to go check Mahiru's condition before Peko's, while Sonia offered to prepare breakfast.

* * *

**Yuki**

Mahiru was fast asleep.

First, she ranted and raved. The contents of which Yuki quickly discarded. It was **almost** all despair-inducing drivel, so he didn't see the point in taking it in retaining it. When her voice gave out, she banged the wall with her fist or clanged her chains against the bed. And when that became too much effort, she resorted to headbutting the bed frame.

After six hours of putting up with her twaddle, she finally fell asleep.

Yuki was there for the whole night. Did someone ask him too? No. But if he didn't, who would? That was his feeling anyway.

The horrible clanging of the metal door opening behind him roused Yuki from his sleep-deprived state.

"Yuki?" He couldn't be bothered turning to greet him, he could tell it was Hajime. "What are you doing in here?'

"What do you think?" Yuki snappily replied.

"…You were in here all night, weren't you?"

"…"

Hajime scratched at his neck. "Look, Yuki about yesterday and… you know everything."

Yuki rose from his chair with a grunt and with a quickened pace - trotted out the door. "I'm going to go take a shower."

**"I'm sorry."** The words only just left his mouth but still managed to catch Yuki's ear.

Yuki paused. He was going to do this later but now was as good a time as any.

"Listen, I had a lot of time to myself, and I think I might have been a bit too hard on you."

Hajime's down trotted gaze perked up a bit.

"I watched Mahiru struggle all night as she tried to get on my nerves. She tried and tried and tried but in the end… it didn't work."

Hajime stole a glance in Mahiru's direction before returning it to Yuki. She was still out cold, looking almost peaceful as she slept.

Yuki let out an audible groan before finally turning around to face him. A small smile decorated his chapped lips. "I guess what I'm trying to say is… I now believe you've been trying your best. I think I'm the one who underestimated just how hard all this was going to be…"

"Wait, Yuki I-"

Hajime was interrupted with the wave of a hand.

"It's fine. But listen… I saw all that time you spent with Sonia as you being selfish. But I think I've now realized what's actually going on."

Hajime looked at him with genuine befuddlement. Not suspicion or worry, it wasn't that he lied with his expression either. There was just no possible way he would have suspected Yuki to figure out his best-kept secret.

**"Hajime, you're worried Sonia might kill herself, aren't you?"**

* * *

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

_WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY_

THEN WHY!?

Why is it that she's the one I'm thinking about and not you…

…

This guilt.

It's going to tear me apart.

I have to work harder.

I have to ḑ̷̨̢̧̢̨̦̺̦̩̹͓̻͎̼̜̠̫̙̬̜̲̥̣̫͉̭̘͔͍͕̤͙̩̥̤̘̟̼͉̇̈́̓̈͊̓͌͊̓̌͌̎́̔̿̐͒͐̃̓͗̈͗͌͆̎͘͘̕͜͝ͅͅǐ̸̧̡̨̡̢̧̺̖͈̦̙̫̖̭̠̦̘̹͙̮̙͉̩̯̜͔͈͕̤̤̰̻͕͙̖̱̟̙̭͈̫͖̤̫̺̝̐̈̍̾̋̍̑̏̂̇̽͛́̎̾̅̍̓͆̎͊̃́͊͒̚̚͜͝͝ͅͅe̷̛̛̲͇͍̎͋̉̇͆͑̄̈͛̑̊̅͑́͋̒͑͑̑̿̋̈́̀͛͋̔̈́͗͘̚͝͝͠͝ now.

Before ś̴̨͈̼͇͔͔͔̯̖̥͈͖̫͍͔̱̦̖̪̳̈́̊͋͑̊̃̿̎̌̓̍̃͐̅̿̂͐̾̄̑́͊͆̀̓͊̒̋̀̆̊͊͂͂͊̅̾͌̈́̔̎̀́̏͗̕͘̚͠h̷̢̭̞̲̯̝̰̟̪͈̼̻̳͎̲̖̝͖̬͔͎̠͒̀̑̔̐̊͆̓̆͆̿͊́̀̀̽̓̔͊̌̓̉̏̅̏̋̓̐̆̋̕̕̕͘͝ę̴̡̢̙̲͖̬͎̯̜͍͇̻̲̬̰̻͈͓̙͎̣̼͓̮̭̯̟̱͖̰̬̙͙̲͗̓́̓̓̿͌͐̾̀̎̀́̀̎̉͊̐̅̑̂̈͠ͅ gets me.

Please…

I have to ḑ͓̟͕̗̜̠̘̼̦͕̿̓̊̄͋̀ȉ̵̢̧̧̡͙̦̱̣̙͚̤̤͙̗͓͈͚͍̪̰̟̞̰͓̣̘̤̩͓̙̥̹̯̰̱͆̇̆̆̂̀̾̌̇̑̎͌͛̋̚ͅe̷̡̛͙̣̹̣̰̪͇̘͖͍̘͓͎̲͐͊̐̆̓̈́̑̏̋̇̉̎͊̎̌̓̌͂̀͆̀͂͑̓̇͊̉͑̇͘̚͝͝͠.̷̧̡̛̘̮̮̝̱̯̱̟̤̩̹̹̣̼͓̞̯̪͕̙͓̹͖̹͓̭̖͕̣̓̉̽̄̓͗̅͑̅̍͌͋̆̆̀͆̐͒͋̅̑͌͂̎̎̀͐͂́̒͑̀̌̆̊̚͜͝

Let me d̵̨̢̧̧̨̧̧̧̡̛̟̲̗̥͍̩͍͚̮̙̙͖͉͚̫͖̜͈̳̭̬̘̖̺̰͙͙̼̟̝̜̤̭̖̦͈͍̙̫̖̈́͑́́̋͆̃̇̄̈́͂͗̄̑̎̎̽̇͑͌͌̓̃̕͘̕̕͝͝͝į̸̢̢̡̧̭̣͓̠͈̖̩̝̘̺̹̩̜̬̹̖̩̬̪͎̜̳̝̯͈͕͇͚̈́̀̎͊̓̄̓͌̾̔̀̎̿́̀̒̈̄̐͜͠͝͝ȩ̵̧͙̼̗̜̰̩̭̤͎̯͎͕̞̜̟̬͔̹͔͚̣͖̫̹̟̠̗̗͍̳̦͎͓͈̗͔̮̲̋̇.̷̡̧̧̧̡͙̭̟̰̥̝͓̤͚̘̹̥͍̰̦̰̞̻̹̲̞̹̤̩̻͕̹̫̼͈̙̯͉̟͈̳͔̞̖̝̞̪̟͋̆̏͑͗͊́̊͒͜͜

I want to ḑ̴̧̯̜͎̣̯̲̪̮͈̰͙̫̤̬̺̝̓̇̿̄́̋̓ͅi̸̢̨̧̺̰͔̹̭̲̠̺̖̠͔͓͚̯̜̼̼̰͚̫̮̣̼̬͕̞͉͖̠̓̓̃͛̀̓̅̊̽̃̔͒̔̎͑̀̄̋̚͝ͅę̷̧̡̜̫͓͕̖̞͎͙̰͔̳͉͔̬͓̖̦͙̝̱͔̺̝̻̣̪̻̪͎̭̘̱͓̋̏̋̊̏́̆̂̿̈́͘̕̚͜͝ͅ.̶̨̢̨̹͎̯̪̖͉̼̦̩̳̬̲̙̹̓͑̋̅͌̿͐̉̄̾̒͐̈́͋̇̄̃̓̎̃̓͛͆̌̿͊̒̚͜͜͝͝͝ͅ

Ṗ̴̧̨̨̧̧̖̱̤͓͓̪͍̣̠̯̩̬͎̙̹̺͎̝̠͕̮̻͕̝̫̝̞̺̫̝̤̮̙̝̼̙̙̭̰̝̲̞͖̋͊̓̐̉͊̆̏͑̊̽͌͒͊̋͆̒̊̈́̽̐͐͗͆̓͂͗͑̔̏̑̐͗̓͆̉͘͜ͅͅl̴̢̧̝̲͉̣̠̩͓̼̲̩͓͍͕̪̪̜̱̲̪̘͍̩̖͔͈̝̫̥̫͒͑́̈́̍͑̎̔̐̊͊̍͌̍̔́̐͊͌̓͐̐͗̉͊͌̇͛̅̑̓̅̀͗́͋͆̈́͘̚̕͝͠ę̸̢̢̧͚̖͉͔̲̲̯͓̹̹͔̲̮̺̦̝͚̗̤͍̙̯̰̬̘͚͉̥̺̻̼̱̘̟̂̈́̑̀̄̈́͆͂͌̿̑͂͆͗̇̉̌́͒̀̇̽͘̚̕͝͠͝͝ͅá̴̢̝̬̬̞̟̐̀͛̈́͑͒̍͐̊̈́͑̊̔͛̔̾̐̿̕̚͘͝͝s̵̢̧̢̧͈̲͈͓̝̘̦͍̖̣̩̞͉͈̰̘̭̟͙̟̮̭͙͈̲̦͚̥̝̪̬͔̳͈̓̿͐͜͝ȩ̷̢̢̢̨̨̬̙̝̫͖̮̗̠̤̥̰̰̗͎͓̱̬͍͚̮̳͓̜̟͍͇͙̼̻̗̮̗̝͇̲̫̪̎̈̓̊̌̑̈́̀̎̕͜͝ ̶̢̪̘̙͈̳̘͚̹͍̺̹̞̑̀̔͛͐̅̿̿̈́̈́̈́̐̇͐͂̅͂͐̔̓̐͋̇̀̈̆̑̈̓̍̍̑́̾͆͒̂̄͆̉̕͝͝͝͠d̶̨̧̛̻̘̝̠̱̦͍̀̂̂́̀͊̈̂̆͆́̈́̏̇̓̌̏̾͌̉̂̀̎̆͋̐̚͝͝i̸̧̧̧̼̜̹̪͈̻̦͎̞̜͚̫̤͉̖̪͙̠̹̥̪̲͉̝̣̟̹̮̭̘̰̬͕̳̝̹̜͓̪̠̬͊̆̑̔͆͆̀̿̅̔̐͠ͅͅe̷̯͚͈̥̰̔͐͒͑̌̑̍͋̈́̿̈́͒̿̊̒̔̈́̾͛̌̄̂̏̋͛͂̏̽̈̓̉͌̚͘̕͠͝͝͝͝͠.̶̧̧̢̧̧̢̨̙̬̹͎͈̻̰͕͙̼͉͈̠̼͇͍͔̰̙͙̩̣̰͉̳̹͚̜̹̘̲̣͈̰̳͈͚͎͓̑͑̍̏̑̈́̇̄̒͋̀̈́̍̋́̈̈̋̇̒͋̊̆͛̎̊͐̏̈́̑̕̚̚͜͜͠͠͠ͅ

͕̼͈̰̙͎̲͍͔͍̱͕̯̝̹̳̰͚̬͔͖̝͔̝̯̮̫͙͔͖̗̋̇̅̇̓̑͑͒̒̚͜Ḑ̵̨̢̥͙̦̤͉͕̫̝͈͖̳̳̞͓͖̮̯̱̣̩͇̤̽̾̌́͂̈̇̓͑͑̈̐͛̓̓͋̽̃͆̓́́̊̍͆͗̽̾͘̕͝͠ͅį̸̨̡̢̧̹͍͇͚̻̞̜̲͕̦͓̲͍̲̠̬͈͇͙̘̣͈̪͕̙̖̦͚̥̯̠̲̜͚̰͔̯̖̟͍̫̗̫̘͓̾̆̂̌͐̂̊̌̿̓̇͑͂͊́̉́͊̌͊̐̒̐̌͆͗̀͋̇͛́͘̚͝͝͠͝͝͝͝͠͝͝e̷̢̧̛̼̱̣̘͖̰̤̦͕̯̫̻̯͓̤̯̒̽̓̆̔̄͂̋̋͆̅̀͜͝͠ͅ.̴̞̌͆̍̀̿͗̌̾̇̆̏̀́́͐̅̈́̈́͂̋̍̄̆̾̊̽̓͑̐̈́́̍̒̂̅̈̊̈́͆̈́͑͘̚͝͠͠͠͠

̶̧̡̧͉͙̱̬͉̪͙̻̮̩͎̮̤̖͎̼̮̞̺̥̙̩͈̣̗͎̬̰̳̟̱̬̦̪̠̩̪͎̭̳̰͎̗̥̑̆̀͂̄͛̕͜͜ͅD̷̡̛̛̬͕͚̥̭̜̙̤̣̲͚̼͎̲̓̈́̉̏͆̊̄́̋̎̌͆̆̍̄͊̾̐̉͆̈͒̿̏̚͠͝i̵̧̨̡͍̥̖̼̼̺͎͔͈͍̥̰͚͓̺̠͈̹̘̦̬̰͎͕̠̰̙̳̟͈̜͍͈̞̖̟̝̗͑͑̇̃͗́́̉̿́͐̔̂͒̓̊̋̋͗͑̊͌̌̍͌̎͛͊̆̂̔̂͆̂͆̅̓̾͋͛̀̀̃̀̉̕͘͘͜͝͠͠ͅê̸̪̜̙̺̹̥̘̤̦̭͙̙̹͚͖̲̺̥͕͇̙͈̗̞̺̞͉̩̺͍̼̣̣͓̎̽͒͋̎͆͛̀̽͌̈́̆̈́͗͑͌̒̂̑͗̋̃̐͑̉̽͆̉͘̚̕͘͜͠.̷̢̧̨̡̧̨̨̛͕͍̬̬̜̲͔̲̼̖͈̞͈̬͓̫̣̘̜̖̝̮̞͔̟̩̯͌̅͆̌̀̏̿͐͂͂̈̐̆́̐̑́̆̔͊͑͒̐̀͒̓͋̈́̎̾͐̈́̔̕̚̕͘͜͝

̵̧͎̦͇̺̰̞̟͉̒͑̀́͑̌̿̈͛͛͌́͗͗͘ͅD̴̛̛̘͚̞̙̱̰̲͈̻̊́̇̿̑͆̈́̿̂̈́͗̏́͑́͆̆̊̈́̒̌̾͋͂̽̾̏̅͘͘̚̕ḯ̷̡̛̙͇̝̰̳̣͓̺̺͔̣̹͚̲̼̤́͑̀̍̈́̓͗̈́̽̃͆̔̇̋̀̃ͅͅͅĕ̷̢̢̛͙̤̬͕̮̜̤͕̪̮̗͎͕̼͖͇̳̯̥̭̫͆̈́͐̾̍̋͌͌̒͒̐̾̀̂̅́͌̔̔͒͌̓͗̀̽̌͗́̅̓͛̍̿̾́͌́͊̄̕̕͠͝͝.̴̝͉͖̜̻̖̭͙͙͓̭͇̩͉̥͇̜̉̇̓̈͗̽͛͋̾͋̍͌͋̆̎̂͛̍͊̿͘̚͝

̷̡̨̨̦͓͙͔̺̳̯̦̙̥̰̹̘͖̗̺͙͈̦̪̬̖̮̺̱͚͍̤̩̟̬̤̳͊͆̌̒̀͑̿̌̊͂̄̚͜͠͝ͅ

I don't want to hurt her.

But I know I'll hurt you.

Wow.

I really am a piece of shit.

Dammit.

GODDAMNIT!

Why'd you do this to me?

Why can't I be brave just this once?

Why?

Be so nice.

Be so kind.

Why'd you have to be my friend?

Why…

Why now?

Why not before?

Why are you in my mind and not her?

Hand down the back of the throat.

That's how it goes, right?

But if I do this…

S̸̺̟̼̩̯̹͈͎̣͈͒̿͌̄̂̔̄͜ḣ̵̜͂͊̅̒̕ͅé̶͙͉̻͒ might get me.

It's a Catch 22, isn't it?

Never even read that book.

Idiot.

Maybe now I'll get the chance.

Fuck…

I want to live again, don't I?

Shit…

Look at you.

You're a piece of shit.

What do you think she would say?

She would be so mad.

I'm sorry Peko.

I'm so sorry.

I want to be better.

I know I killed you.

Yet I still want to live.

You must hate me.

No…

It's the opposite.

You love me.

And I love you.

I guess it's just too bad, huh…

That I now have others, I love too.

* * *

**Hajime & Yuki**

"What gave you that idea?"

Yuki certainly didn't need Hajime to confirm whether his suspicion was correct or not. His body language told the whole story. His fight or flight instinct had kicked in, and he had made the decision to confront the issue head-on.

The question was whether it would be necessary.

"You've really taken a liking to Sonia, huh? If I'm honest, I would have never expected it. But hey, it's not like I have a good grasp on these kinds of things. I've never even had a boyfriend." Yuki resisted a chuckle at seeing Hajime's uncompromising expression. It refused to even move an inch when he was trying so hard to lighten the mood.

'Must 'a really hit a nerve, aye.' The thought disappeared as quickly as it came.

Yuki sighed, "Mahiru mentioned a certain concept… philosophy? Belief? Erm… whatever. She said this thing called **'the convenient truth'**."

Hajime flinched but did his best to pass it off as merely clearing his throat.

"Would you mind explaining to me exactly what that is?"

Hajime's gaze never left Yuki; however, it did seem to shift ever so slightly. Like someone was just behind Yuki, hanging over his shoulder. That someone or possibly something seemed to get his attention only for a moment before he returned it back to the imposter.

"Why are you asking me? It's clear you already know everything."

"What makes you say that?"

"Cause… you already made clear that the convenient truth has a link to Sonia."

Yuki nodded with a sigh. He had underestimated Hajime's deductive abilities. He thought about it some more and realized - 'didn't the others mention that Hajime had a large part to play in solving each murder in the simulation?'

Yuki cleared his throat and began: "You created a fictional philosophy that would absolve guilt for anyone who bought into it. Centring around the idea that Junko had us under perfect and impervious mind control. Like puppets, correct? That's the analogy you used?"

Hajime nodded uneasily.

"Right…" Yuki breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. An honest and earnest smile, which was rare for him. "I really underestimated you, Hajime."

Hajime blushed a little, "you're not mad at me?"

"Course not! I'm not a fan of lying, but the truth can be horrendously ugly at times."

Hajime took a step toward Yuki. He was nervous about it, but to his delight, Yuki turned to face him with a steady expression of understanding and ease. One he had not seen on Yuki for a long time.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about everything." Hajime bit at his bottom lip. "The truth is I can be a selfish jerk at times and – ARGH!"

With an almighty punch - one with such precision and power that Captain Falcon would be proud; Yuki hit Hajime in the gut, causing him to coil-over and into his arms.

"Never apologize when you've done all you could. I know now, you tried your best. And that's all I can ever ask for. I'm sorry for being such a jerk too."

Hajime didn't care much for his apology when he felt like his innards had just been repositioned into his chest cavity. "The hell you *cough* punch me for then!?"

"I mean… I'm still kind of pissed. Justified or not, I just needed to get that out of the system."

Hajime collapsed to the ground. "A-A-Asshole…"

Yuki laughed, "yeah, that's fair."

The imposter went to leave as Hajime rolled around on the floor, trying to catch his breath. "Oh yeah…" As Yuki was just about to go down the stairs, he paused. "By the way, who did you tell about the convenient truth? Just Mahiru and Sonia?"

Hajime nodded with gnarled teeth.

Yuki was starting to feel a bit bad for him. Perhaps he did hit him too hard. Fortunately, he did have an idea to at least help ease his conscious.

"I get why you told Sonia. It makes perfect sense. If she thinks she was responsible for the death of her people, then… But listen… one day, you need to tell her the truth. The horrible truth that our actions were our own. I don't think it's healthy to live in a fantasy world." With those parting words and a smile, he left.

Hajime and Yuki's bond had mended, Yuki finally had trust in Hajime again. But there was one critical miscommunication that Yuki had neglected to realize.

The convenient truth.

Was just that.

The truth.

That's what Hajime had hoped anyway. It wasn't that he was lying, he was merely aware of how naïve he was being. But whether it was foolish or not, he did believe that it… could be the truth.

Or perhaps that was just another lie Hajime told himself.

The web of lies and truths had become so tangled in his psyche that it was hard to distinguish fact from fiction. But as long as that web were there to catch Sonia if she were to ever fall, he didn't much care.

* * *

**Fuyuhiko**

The sour stench of his mistake seeped from the toilet bowl. It was so bad it made his eyes water, or perhaps that was just an excuse… Each time he tried to calm himself down the memories would come flooding back.

**"HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU SAY THAT!?"**

Sick…

_"It's the truth, and you know it."_

Oh god…

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

It hurts…

_"For what?"_

It hurts so goddamn much!

"I think I finally understand something important.  
I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner."

It's like you could tell what I was thinking…

"…Choose your next words very carefully."

You knew me so well…

"Peko,"

I'm sorry…

"I think…

That I… never got to know the real you.

We should never see each other again."

To Fuyuhiko's surprise, he still had some of his mistake left in him.

* * *

**Akane**

"Absolute horseshit!" Akane giggled up as she slammed the whole bottle down her gullet. "Oh, god! That's awful! BAHAHA!" She crashed onto the bed and went back to her favourite pastime of absently watching the ceiling fan circulating the stuffy air.

The murky coloured glass bottle was lifted back into her field of vision. On the bottle's label was a sea captain. A cracked face showed his age alongside a snow-white beard. A comically large pipe hung from his mouth with a smidgen of ash seeping off the ivory wood sides. Below the character read;

"Hershel's Brewery!  
Now operating for our 20th year!"

Akane snickered at it, "not anymore, idiot! Last batch, ahoy!" She saluted before rising the bottle back to her lips. A single drop splashed against her tongue to her immense disappointment. She cringed at the empty bottle as if its very existence were offensive.

Akane spun onto her stomach and eyed up the trash can on the other side of the room. She shouted; "THREE POINT SHOT!" and hurled the bottle. It hit the wall with a great deal of power and bounced off - landing on the floor. With the remaining momentum, it rolled underneath one of the beds to never be seen again.

"Eh, close enough…"

She moved off the bed and hit the ground with a _*thunk*_ – as intended. Now her makeshift stash of booze was within reach. She grabbed the nearest bottle, the friendly captain on the label was there to greet her once again.

"Ah… my precious horseshit." Akane sighed with delight. She popped off the cap and was about to take a swig when Fuyuhiko shimmied around the door frame.

"YO! Wasssssup buddy?" Akane smiled, but it swiftly dispersed at seeing his condition. A dark ring of insomnia propped up his one visible eye with the other concealed beneath a white synthetic eyepatch as always. Increasingly concerning pale skin hid beneath a grey cotton shirt and black pyjama pants. No colour in his cheeks, no colour in his… anywhere. He would look straight out of an old black and white cartoon if it wasn't for his scraggy blonde hair and freckles.

"Hey…" The words came from the deepest recess of Fuyuhiko's throat, making his greeting sound more like a growl rather than words.

"The hell happened to you?" Akane regretted the words the moment she spoke them. It was easy to infer why he was in his current state after everything that happened with Peko.

"Didn't sleep." Fuyuhiko sheepishly replied.

It looked like he would collapse at any moment. The only thing stopping him from doing so was the meagre support of the doorframe. Akane couldn't help but chuckle under her breath and just how unfair this was. She was barely keeping it together herself and yet there was no time for that: Someone needed more help than she did.

"Looks like you need a drink!" Akane grabbed another bottle without looking and held it up with a mischievous grin.

Fuyuhiko huffed through his nose at the sight. He dragged himself across the room and sat on the foot of the bed Akane was collapsed next to. She handed him the bottle, and he popped off the cap with ease.

Akane didn't get up, she couldn't be bothered, but nevertheless, tradition should be upheld, so she lifted the bottle high up into the air and yelled "CHEERS!" before taking a generous swig.

Fuyuhiko, on the other hand, looked at the cartoon captain with disdain. Alcohol led to nothing good, yet its alluring nature had enamoured the masses for centuries. Perhaps this one time, he would give them the benefit of the doubt. He too took a generous swig but just about coughed it back up as it burned his throat.

"Pffftttt, hahaha!" Akane poked his ankle with her finger. "Can't handle your liquor?"

"No." Fuyuhiko stiffly replied, leaving the pair to stew in an awkwardness he had brought about.

But Akane wouldn't let that awkwardness linger for long as drinking in silence was not her idea of a good time.

"How'd things go with Peko?"

Fuyuhiko shimmied off the bed and sat in front of Akane, causing her to now sit up. He wore a gaze Akane had never seen him have before: A mix of sadness, sympathy and acceptance. That was her best guess at what that face was. While Fuyuhiko is usually easy to read, this was not one of those times.

"Why are you drinking, Akane?"

Akane didn't expect to be asked that. She looked down at the dark swill and thought for a moment.

"Do I need a reason?"

Fuyuhiko shot a curious look before taking another drink.

"How many times have I spilled my guts to you, huh?"

"You ain't doing it now."

"…Suppose you're right."

The two brewed in silence once again, although this time it wasn't so much awkwardness as they both simply became lost in thought.

"Hey, Fuyuhiko…" Akane broke the tedium with a question Fuyuhiko didn't think she would ever ask. "I know you'll hate me for this, but can I get a hug. Just a quick one."

No cringing, no protesting. Just compassion. Fuyuhiko gave her a big hug without issue.

"I'm really sorry," Akane whispered in his ear as she hugged him back.

"You don't have to apologize for a fucking hug, it's fine."

"No…" Fuyuhiko could feel her fingers tighten around his sides. "I'm being so selfish. I know things went bad with Peko yet here I am being comforted by you."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" He wanted to face her but didn't want to let her go either. He just had to hope that his words wouldn't get lost in her tangle of hair. "You did the same for me… so many goddamn times I can't even keep count of them all! So… let me do this. At least let me give you a hug without you feeling guilty for it."

Akane muttered profanities under her breath as she fought against the coming tears. She didn't want to cry, not while Fuyuhiko was in so much pain.

'No! I refuse to let that happen!' Akane cemented her will.

She pushed Fuyuhiko back and punched his shoulder. "NO! Screw this noise! I came here to drink; you came here to drink! So, let's drink!"

"Wait, wah-" Fuyuhiko's cries were gagged by the neck of a bottle being shoved down his throat. Up, up and up, Akane lifted the butt of both their drinks as high as they could go. Until eventually, they both had chugged the contents.

Fuyuhiko spluttered and nearly threw up but managed to hold it in. "Jesus Christ! You trying to kill me?!"

Akane broke out into laughter before patting him on the back. And although irritated initially by her antics eventually, he fell victim to her infectious laugh.

Fuyuhiko liked a lot of things about Akane – her smile, her candour, her kindness - but one of his favourites was her laugh. It was so genuine. She didn't hold it back, didn't matter if it sounded weird or if she would embarrass herself. If she wanted to laugh, she was going to laugh. Simple as that.

Fuyuhiko grabbed another two bottles with a smirk. "Well then… if we're doing this. We're going all the way, Akane! No backing out now!"

"HELL YEAH!" Akane's eyes met Fuyuhiko's and sparkled. "Let's go!"

They laughed, they drank, and the morning went on…

* * *

**Kazuichi**

The storm was raging.

Trees were being uprooted; waves lapped further up the shore than they ever had before, and the sound of rain had become so engraved in each person's psyche that it was beginning to be hard to remember a time without it.

"Ah… AH! K-K-Kazuichi! I require assistance!" Sonia called out from the kitchen of the breakroom.

They ran into each other while looking for breakfast and decided to make it together. But even though she was injured, Sonia insisted on doing most of the work, leaving Kazuichi to stare out the window. With the ingredients on hand, they decided that pasta would be their go-to dish.

Kazuichi entered from the hallway with a sigh as he scratched at his neck. "What is-! WHAT THE HELL!?" A black bloom of smoke rose from a stainless-steel pot atop the stove.

"I think I may have used too much baking soda!"

"Baking soda!?" Just then, the dish cried out in horrible agony with a giant air bubble spluttering forth and throwing sauce onto the floor in a fit of rage. "What did you do, Sonia!?"

"I do not know!"

Kazuichi rushed forward to see that the element of the stove was on the highest possible setting. Inside the pot, a black mixture of god knows what bubbled forth like a witch's cauldron.

"We… we ah-!" Kazuichi couldn't bare the putrid smell any longer! He took the concoction and dumped it down the drain. You would think leftover bits of pasta would remain in the sink, but the only traces of such a thing was a fine paste-like substance.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US!?" Kazuichi's eyes watered from the stench.

"I am ashamed!" Sonia moved herself to the corner of the room and faced the wall.

**_-15 minutes later-_**

After disposing of the toxic goods, Kazuichi started over from square one. It still baffled him how Sonia managed to mess up THAT BADLY, he truthfully found it impressive in its own weird way.

"Come on Sonia… it's fine! These things happen!"

Sonia refused to move from the corner of the room. She absentmindedly drew shapes on the wall with her finger all while groaning about the fiasco. "I am a failure!"

"Come on, Sonia! I could still use your help over here!"

With a heavy sigh and even heavier footsteps, Sonia dragged her way over to the kitchen. But her attitude quickly changed when her nostrils found a heavenly smell wafting through the air.

"Oh my!" Sonia tiptoed to the pot and got a lungful. "That is delightful, Kazuichi!"

He blushed a little, "aw, thanks! It's nothing special."

Feeling more at ease, Sonia sat on the bench and dangled her legs off the countertop.

"Here, can you let me know how this tastes?" Kazuichi stabbed a piece of pasta with a fork and held it toward Sonia. She carefully grabbed it with her teeth.

"mmm-MMM! It is excellent! I did not know you could cook, Kazuichi."

This time he blushed a lot more than a little.

"It's just pasta. It's not that impressive."

"Nonsense! You should take pride in your achievements!" She grabbed her bicep with a smirk. "Kazuichi, you are a great cook!"

Sonia expected him to go even redder than he already was, perhaps start stuttering and play it off but instead… he looked a little sad.

"I ah… oh man, how do I say this? Oh, jeez this is embarrassing…" Kazuichi didn't dare look away from the pasta to see what Sonia was emoting. "I actually learnt how to cook back in high school. Dad was busy with the shop; I mean I was too, but I would clock off early and make us dinner. It was nice… oddly enough, my favourite memories with him weren't mechanical stuff. It was those silly little dinners we'd have in the back of the garage. Sometimes we'd use screwdrivers as forks and hubcap's as plates! It was nice."

Sonia's cheeks felt numb from just how much that goofy anecdote made smile. "That is a lovely story. Although… I do not see how it is embarrassing?"

"The thing is…" Kazuichi physically cringed at the memory, he was just about ready to dive into the pasta headfirst as a means of escape. "The reason I learnt how to cook in the first place was to… impress… you."

Kazuichi couldn't bear to see her reaction to his confession, so he continued to keep his eyes on the pasta.

"I know right, how pathetic is that?…" Kazuichi sighed. "Never occurred to me while I was learning that, oh yeah we have an ultimate cook in our class so anything I do will be overshadowed by a mile." He took the frustration out on the pasta by scrapping the bottom of the pot with the spatula. "Such a fucking idiot…"

"Kazuichi." He remained lost in the tomato sauce. So, Sonia prodded him on the cheek, which finally garnered his attention.

"Consider me impressed." Her smile was so sweet that Kazuichi worried it would ruin the taste of the dish. "Your efforts were not in vain."

"Hm… that's really nice of you to say." Kazuichi sighed. "Thanks, Sonia."

"Anytime!" She cheered with a fiery grin. "We are friends, after all."

Kazuichi hid his embarrassment behind the guise of a concerned cook. He took the pot lid and covered the dish. He also lowered the element to it's lowest setting to let it simmer. "Should be ready to go, we got enough for everybody the only problem is wrangling them all up!"

Sonia leapt off the bench and landed on her tiptoes, showing a perfect demonstration of poise. "I shall go wrangle up the herd, pardner!"

Kazuichi wasn't sure when they started talking like cowboy's but decided it didn't matter. "Thanks, I'll make sure this doesn't burn. Don't want to leave a stove unattended and all that."

"Yee-haw!" Sonia didn't need his acknowledgement; she was wholly captivated by the bit she was doing to the amusement of no one but herself. "I'll be back in two jiffies and wink!" She rode out of the room on an invisible horse to which Kazuichi's only reasonable reaction was to laugh.

"What an idiot!" Kazuichi chuckled to himself.

But something about his admission caused a ball of anxiety to swell in his chest. Just how much of his life was dedicated in the pursuit of a woman who was never going to love him back? He realized that perhaps even now, he was doing the same thing.

**"You really haven't grown up, have you Kazuichi? You're still that same stupid kid."**

* * *

**Fuyuhiko & Akane**

"NO! Uh, uh! No way!"

"I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD IT'S TRUE!" Fuyuhiko cackled.

A mischievous smile hid behind the palm of Akane's hand. "It's just…" She kept giggling between her words. "Kazuichi? Of all people… no… I just… that entirely changes the image I have of him in my head." She went to take a swig to find yet another can empty. Fortunately, they weren't going to run out anytime soon, so after crushing it against her skull, she grabbed another and tossed the crushed aluminium aside to add to the ever-growing collection.

"Akane…" Fuyuhiko grabbed her by the cheeks and smooshed them together. "Kazuichi Souda got his cherry popped back in high school. The sooner you come to accept this fact, the sooner you can move on with your life."

"AHHHH!" Akane covered her ears, tossing and turning. "I refuse! There is n-no way… he… he is…" Akane trailed off into a daze. Fuyuhiko had to click his fingers in front of her face to get her back on track. "He is a… little boy."

Fuyuhiko snorted, "little boy?"

"Yeah! A little one! He shouldn't be having sex! He should be… be… having a juice box!"

"A juice box!?"

"A juice box!"

The pair burst into uproarious laughter.

"The hell do you think him as a kid for? Dude's what… born in June. So… wait… you're the same fucking age!"

"NA UH!" Akane swung her can through the air in a declaration. "He is actually a few days older than me."

Fuyuhiko cackled like a high hyena. "You're such an idiot!"

"Okay, yes… but…" Akane froze. Fuyuhiko's spine let alone his legs had the strength to hold him up anymore. He collapsed to the floor with such unrestrained laughter that he thought he might throw up again. Or perhaps that was the overabundance of alcohol? Akane couldn't help a stifled laugh escape too, even if it were at her expense.

"God, Akane… you got 'ta warn me next time you make me laugh like that!"

"Who'd he even lose it too?" Akane asked abruptly.

"Huh?"

"The girl? It was a girl, right?"

"Oh!" Fuyuhiko chuckled with a nod. "Right, right. Umm."

It had been years since he met her, but he could still recall the girl without a problem due to just how… 'memorable' she was.

"Okay, she was smoking hot." Akane squinted with a smirk, clearly sceptical. "No, I'm serious! Tall, blonde, gorgeous features. Just like a certain princess mind you. Anyway, the reason he was able to score with a girl like her was for three reasons."

Akane scooted forward a couple paces.

"Numero Uno: They were both into engineering. I remember Souda told me she was in a different like… thingy of engineering but they both worked with machines, so it's all the same shit to me."

Akane nodded her head along to the story.

"Number two: She was such a MASSIVE bitch!"

Akane nearly spat out her drink at hearing the brutally honest confession. She rubbed her forearm over her mouth to clean up the minuscule beads of liquid that managed to escape from between her lips. "What!?"

"Seriously! The rudest person I've met in my life! Insults you like, like-" Fuyuhiko paused and interlocked his face into a stern gaze. "Insults more than Saionji!"

Akane gasped, "no!"

"YES!"

"Alright, what's the third reason then?" Akane asked.

"Third and final!" Fuyuhiko pretended to play the trumpet as if to announce it. "To-do-ru! Huge perv."

Akane was taken back, "wait, really?"

"Yeee-up! Bigger than Teruteru. Every word out of her mouth that wasn't an insult was calling herself a genius or about sex."

"What!? Why the hell would Kazuichi even go for a girl like that?"

Fuyuhiko shrugged, "dude wanted his card punched. I don't really think he cared who with. He was determined to make Sonia jealous, so he did what he had to."

"So…" Akane pretended to be rooted in thought. "He fucked a female Teruteru."

Fuyuhiko spat out his mouthful of drink and dived out the floor in a fit of mirth. "JESUS CHRIST, AKANE!"

It took him a while but once recovered from his fit, he became perplexed by his own face. His hands ran up and down his refined features until they came to rest on his button cheeks. "Ow… OW! My fucking mouth hurts! What the hell!?"

"You've been smiling too much, dude!" Akane snorted. "Your muscles hurt."

"What!? You need muscles to smile? Since when?" Fuyuhiko looked as if his entire life was a lie.

"Since forever dude! Come on you got to exercise, or this kind of thing happens."

Fuyuhiko gasped. "You're right! Oh my god! Please! I need your help!"

"Heh!" Akane placed her hand on Fuyuhiko's shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I got the perfect workout plan!"

**"Swol! – Swol! – Swol!"** The two repeated as they aggressively smiled and frowned at each other.

Eventually, the smiles were no longer forced. It instead became a competition of who could make the other laugh with some ridiculous face they could contort into being. A poked-out tongue, dragged out eyelids, puffed out lips. Anything was game if it was funny.

Fuyuhiko beat Akane by a landslide since seeing the usually severe and stern Fuyuhiko make the most ridiculous expressions would be funny even if Akane wasn't sloshed.

"Hey, Fuu…" Akane said.

"Fuu?"

"Yes! Fuu." Akane wiggled her eyebrows. "Okay… heh… okay - fuck, marry, kill."

Fuyuhiko rubbed his hands together and licked at his lips. He watched Akane with eager eyes as she spoke.

"Sonia! Umm, Mahiru and…" Akane pressed a finger to her chin and tried to feign thinking, but it was evident to Fuyuhiko that she was pretending. "Sonia, Mahiru and… me. What're you gonna' do?"

Fuyuhiko also pretended to mull over the options, but he had decided his picks in less than second.

"Okay… hear me out. Kill Ibuki!" He babbled, feeling like he needed to defend his decision. "I mean I don't want to kill anyone but… out the options… she is really annoying."

"BAHAHAHA! I love your honesty!" Akane cackled.

"Then, I would marry Sonia. Which would mean I'd technically be royalty right? RIGHT!?"

"That's so true!" Akane wheezed. "Would you get like a crown and robes, too?"

"Pfft! Obviously! Okay, then that leaves…"

"Me." Akane interrupted.

"Yeah." Fuyuhiko nodded with a sideways smile, "I guess it does."

* * *

"We have arrived!" Sonia cheerily entered with Yuki and Hajime interlocked in her arms. "I have found dem outlaws drinking by dat der river over yonder!"

Kazuichi grew ever more concerned over this shitty cowboy bit she refused to give up, what was even stranger was that she was now inexplicably wearing a sombrero. It seems Yuki and Hajime shared the same sentiment as they looked to him for answers for her behaviour. All Kazuichi could offer was a dismissive shrug. Each of them chalked it up to just Sonia being Sonia.

"Well breakfast is ready, so come grab a seat guys!" Kazuichi called out.

"Thanks!" The guys huffed in unison before each taking a seat around the dinner table. Hajime just about collapsed when he took a place around the maple wood. He offhandedly grumbled that he checked on Mahiru and that she was okay before closing his eyes. Yuki was still drying his hair with a white bath towel with visibly red cheeks. Kazuichi could tell there was a story there but decided not to ask it.

"What about Peko and Mahiru?" Yuki brazenly asked. "What about breakfast for them? I doubt they're coming to the table, right?"

"I'll… bring them breakfast later. Nuff for everyone." Kazuichi mumbled under his breath.

"Akane and Fuyuhiko!" Sonia's voice suddenly perked up from the doorway. "I shall go retrieve them next!"

Kazuichi and Yuki nodded in reply, but Hajime smirked. "What happened to the cowgirl thing you were doing?"

"You are right!" Sonia gasped. "I'll bring dos no good city lickers back to the station!" Having no concept of how much she made everyone cringe, she tipped her hat and trotted up the stairs.

It was silent for a moment. Just long enough for Sonia to get out of earshot when Hajime spoke up.

"So… where did she get the hat?"

"Right!?" Yuki threw his arms in the air. "Where the hell did she find a sombrero?"

They all threw out random theories on its origin, but they could never get to a satisfying conclusion.

"Was it in the supplies we brought with us?"

"Maybe it washed up on shore?"

"Was it in one of the cabins?"

"She does realize cowboys didn't wear sombrero's, right?"

The mystery remained unsolved…

* * *

Sonia found it hard to keep herself from smiling.

'It's truly amazing what a couple of good friends can do!'

The silver linings of their future were cracking through the clouds and enveloping her in its warm light. There were still troubles on her mind… plenty. But she was determined to put one foot in front of the other until she reached that **brighter, shining future** they were all clambering for.

'Right! No more time for self-reflection!'

"Akane! Fuyuhiko!" Sonia called up the stairwell. They couldn't be far. Everyone was trapped in this building until the storm passed so unless they were explicitly hiding, it shouldn't take long. She couldn't wait to dig into the breakfast Kazuichi had prepared so finding them sooner, the better.

"…Hng." A feeble noise echoed from the third-floor hallway. It was hard to hear over the rain, but it was there. Sonia determined the source of the sound to come from the main bedroom (A.K.A. the bay window room.) She scampered up the stairs in a hunger-induced frenzy.

"Ah…"

"Mmm… fuck."

Sonia's hasty pace slowed as more and more sounds became apparent the closer she got.

A male and female voice which she recognized to be who she was looking for.

She was happy to have found Fuyuhiko and Akane together since that would be easier, but she couldn't understand the noises she was hearing.

"Ah… ah… AH!"

'That was Akane's voice! Perhaps she is in pain!' That thought raced through Sonia's mind as she dashed forward toward the bedroom door.

"Akane!" That was the only warning given before Sonia flung open the door.

The first thing Sonia spotted was that the room was littered with various bottles and cans. It was oddly dark; the entire left side of the room was shrouded in a murky grey shadow from the curtains. The right side of the room was much the same except for one single beam of light illuminating a bed. This small crack in the curtains allowed this presence to envelop the sheets and shed light on the two bodies that sat upon it.

As Sonia's mind comprehended the scene, more details revealed themselves to her.

A long sleeve shirt laid at Sonia's feet, next to them; a pair of pants. A singlet lay on the bed alongside the two bodies, and a rather large bra hung from the ceiling fan. A small clasp inadvertently kept it ensnared to the spinning blades.

"I am sorry!" Sonia went to slam the door shut, but a cursory glance at the couple cemented the scene as what all the evidence pointed towards. The story of the what had happened – was happening – was finally, indisputably, understood. Even by someone as naïve as Sonia.

There were many more details about the scene that Sonia had witnessed: Where individual limbs were, orifices, and not to mention a certain 'front tail' as Akane would put it. But Sonia wanted to purge all traces of that memory as soon as possible, so she refused to give it any more thought.

She staggered downstairs in a daze and went to join the others for breakfast.

Meanwhile, she left the two she had found bewildered at her sudden entrance.

"Wa-Was she wearing a fucking sombrero?" Fuyuhiko chuckled. "So, should we, uh…" He shot her a guilty glance, but Akane interrupted it with a quick but passionate kiss.

"I don't fucking care, Fuu. Just keep going, I'm close." The damp words caressed the skin and left Fuyuhiko wanting more.

"Right." Fuyuhiko drew his focus back to Akane.

Beads of sweat glistened on Akane's muscular shoulders and sped toward her lower back. Fuyuhiko's hands positioned themselves against her sides to keep her larger form steady on top of him. Her hands, in turn, were interlocked around his neck to keep his face close and lips closer with her legs doing much the same thing around his lower back.

Fuyuhiko showered kisses down the side of Akane's neck as he kept his hips in rhythm with her movements. She squeaked at the sensation to his amusement. He loved hearing these sounds out of someone as reticent as Akane. Sickly sweet moans, an occasional grunt of gratification or swear words whispered under breath were all sounds Fuyuhiko was quickly growing to love.

As she bounced atop him, he couldn't help but notice just how much her breasts heaved with every motion. Although the best view of his life, he couldn't help but cringe a little at just how much it looked like it would hurt. So, he grabbed hold.

Akane whimpered at his touch as he ran a thumb over her nipple. His fingers were quickly enveloped by her bosom. He had witnessed their glory a few times before since Akane cared little about being seen naked, but this was the first time he had ever touched her like this… and it was everything he imagined it to be. Akane squeezed down her hand atop his and encouraged him to keep going.

"You don't have to be gentle…" Akane huffed.

"That so?" Fuyuhiko's tongue slid into her mouth without resistance. He lowered Akane onto her back and got into a position above her with his feet firmly placed against the floor. He parted lips for just a moment, "you shouldn't have to do all the work." He hissed beneath heavy breaths before kissing her again and thrusting his way inside her.

"Mmm!" Akane squeaked.

There it was. The sound he had been craving.

Akane ran her hands up his chest and around his back, encouraging him to go deeper to his surprise.

Every signal Fuyuhiko received – verbal or not – had encouraged him to go further, faster, harder. He finally recognized the truth.

He was scared.

He didn't have much experience with women. None of which was while he was of sound mind, so he was inexperienced at best. His main concern was to not hurt her or do anything that would make her uncomfortable, but by doing so, he was holding back.

As Akane let loose the occasional moan, he realized he wasn't enough... Not like this, at least.

'No more being scared…' Fuyuhiko thought.

He pinned her down with another sudden kiss to which Akane seemed to have no problem with. He interlocked one hand in hers and snatched a breast in his other. Finally, he stopped holding back and began to increase his movements - further, faster and harder.

The number of sounds he heard Akane made increased tenfold to his delight and relief.

"OH FUCK!" Akane cried out in ecstasy at the sudden shift of libido.

In their throws of passion, something strange happened. Something neither partner saw coming. It merely happened with no greater thought attached to it… and after it had. The dynamic of their 'friendship' shifted once again.

"I love you, Fuu," Akane whispered the words into his cheek.

Without missing a beat, Fuyuhiko replied.

"I love you too."

* * *

Sonia re-entered the break room as white as a ghost. She sat back down at the table and began to eat without saying a word.

"Where're the others?" Kazuichi asked.

"Busy," Sonia replied as she hid her rosy cheeks behind the bowl.

Kazuichi was perplexed. "Akane didn't want food? Huh, weird."

"Yup…" Sonia ate away at the pasta in the silence she had dragged in with her.

In a single embarrassing mistake, her smile had vanished.

Too many things were on her mind now. Before this, she had tried to avoid the thought of this topic whenever it happened to cross her mind. Of course, sometimes her body wouldn't let her simply forget. It demanded these desires be handled, but she had been firm in denying them until now.

But… there was a point to Sonia's constitution. A point when no matter how embarrassing and awful these thoughts and feelings were, they had to be dealt with. That it would hurt more than help by leaving them unspoken and the last thing Sonia wanted to do was hurt Hajime.

The lies she was telling herself.

The truths she conveniently left unmentioned.

They had to be addressed.

"Hajime." Sonia stirred the pasta with a fork, she couldn't bear to look him in the eye as she spoke. "Can we talk later?"

"Yeah, sure. What about?" Hajime replied casually to Sonia's annoyance.

"Privately."

"Oh…" He didn't realize it was that kind of conversation, "yeah, of course."

Yuki quickly followed this request with one of his own.

"NOPE! I'm sorry! I've got to ask!" Yuki yelled at the top of his lungs. "Sonia!"

She just about jumped out of her chair. "W-w-what is it?" Sonia had never seen Yuki look so serious. When she looked around the room, both Hajime and Kazuichi had the same stern expression.

"We've got to know… WHERE DID YOU GET THE HAT!?"

Sonia almost snorted but just managed to keep herself from doing so. Her smile had returned, and with it, the awkwardness vanished. She flicked the rim of her sombrero upwards with a smirk on her face.

"Still haven't figured that one out, pardner?" Sonia mocked.

"NO, we haven't! Where!?"

"Seriously the hell did you get it from!?" Kazuichi pitched in.

"Sonia…" Hajime's tone was earnest. "You might think we're kidding, but it's seriously bothering us!"

"Also, what's with the weird cowboy talk!?"

Sonia enjoyed tormenting the three of them for the rest of breakfast and although they wouldn't have admitted it; the guys enjoyed it just as much.


	21. Mini: The Spark

Conflict.

Strife.

Love.

Grief.

Misery.

Happiness.

Friendship.

**Loss.**

These feelings were not monopolised by the 77th Class. These emotions were swirling around in a storm that surrounded the five islands of Jabberwock. Within each person, these emotions emanated and corrupted the psyche of those around.

"Hey, did you hear that Kuzuryu guy actually killed someone back at Hope's Peak?"

"What about the ginger chick, didn't she cover up a murder?"

"Well, I heard one of them tried to blow up an auditorium."

"They must all be psychos!"

Words corrupt. Words tear apart. Words are malleable and may contort. Fact or fiction. Rumours or absolute truths. These conflicting states of being can exist paradoxically in the minds of different hosts. One might find a truth, another fiction. This paradox is acceptable because words only exist as a concept and nothing more.

Yet with all this power to manipulate. Words are powerless without action.

A word, a thought, is a spark. An action; the resulting explosion.

The storm seethed with these words. Emotions of rage and misery. Thoughts of jealousy and the need for revenge. The psyche of the islands was beginning to boil over. Riots had already started on the second and the fourth islands. A worker's strike was planned to commence on the fifth once the storm had passed.

Sour words of scientific truths were no longer satisfactory. Embellishments were first, then exaggerations, gross over approximations until…

"Dude's a Yakuza. He's been killing since he was four!"

"That fucking bitch. She was actually a serial killer working with Genocider Cho!"

"I'm telling you they have always been fucked. I heard they sacrificed that one gamer girl in their class to Satan. Fucking blood ritual Mayan bullshit! I'm serious!"

If something wasn't done, anarchy was bound to come. The shared consciousness that spanned over the islands was split. Separated from friends, loved one, colleagues, neighbours. Those that remained, in their already hostile state were squished into a hall not much bigger than a basketball court. The comfort of a picnic rug, a pop-up tent, porta potties that eternally reeked of shit, five-year-old M.R.E. for breakfast, nothing for lunch, three-year-old M.R.E. for supper.

That was their lives for the coming days. What would those people do if not discuss their dissatisfaction?

The murders.

The devil worshippers.

The psychos.

The enemy.

They had their own island.

They were happy.

They don't want to die.

**Words. Words. Words.**

**Words are but a spark.**

"I'm telling you. They're living the good life right now. The Future Foundation needs them. They don't care about us!"

"Fucking prisoners my ass! They have their own goddamn tropical island! Bet that Naegi guy spouted of some bullshit and got them off scot-free."

"I swear, I can make that swim. Fucking go over there and gut them whole."

Too many sparks and a fire would be bound to start. The Future Foundation knew this, everyone with half a brain knew this. But what was there to be done? Except give them precisely what they wanted. A chance. A fire. A lightning strike to call down the flames. Or put simply; hope.

"You hear, dudes got a boat. He's going over there to kill them all! You want in?"

"It's a myth! They're just trying to placate us until the storm's done."

"Mysterious type. Only appears at a certain place and time."

"You heard what they call this dude? He's named after a serial killer."

…

A conduit for the storm had been found. A symbol had morphed into being.

Through him – a truth. A hope. A proposition. An action.

Discourse of revolution decreased; discussion was now focused on this mysterious figure. This figures prominence only grew as a symbol as more and more people seeking revenge were recruited. Those that had a presence, history or just seemed desperate enough would find a whisper in their ear with a name and meeting time.

Even though this concept of a masked hero of justice enamoured the few hundred citizens left on Jabberwock. Only **five** were selected for this raid. Yet even with all the secrecy **six **still showed.

…

The first was a **bear** who dared to live in the woods, even though it couldn't see through the trees.

The second was a **fox** that wanted to be worshipped. Even if they were a worshipper themselves.

The third was a sounder of **swine** who wanted to fill their gullets. Even if they had to steal it.

The fourth was a wounded **lion** that wished to be whole and took solace in denying it.

The fifth was a **panda** who searched for answers in the savanna.

The sixth was a **boy** who lost himself in the **void**.

**The first agreed.**

**Juro Owari had decided to kill his only living sister.**

**But this isn't about him.**

**This is the story of the second.**

* * *

_**Sparkling Justice**_

"The hell are you?" Sparkling Justice growled at the looming figure.

A woman approached. Mid 30's was his best guess at a glance, although everyone had gained a few years from the stress of the world ending so she could have easily been in her late 20's. The lady carried herself with confidence as she approached. "The name's **Akira**, are you the one they call; Sparkling Justice?"

"Who's asking?"

The woman groaned as she found a comfortable place on the wall next to him. "I don't have time for this cloak and dagger nonsense. Was told you have a boat going across to their island and I want a place on it."

"Huh…" He patted down his pockets and realised he forgot to get more cigarettes. "You mind? I'm out." Sparkling Justice held out his hand expectantly, and without missing a beat, the woman pulled a fag from her breast pocket and placed it in his palm.

"Cheers." He lit it before taking a long drag and puffing out the resulting smoke into the night.

"I know what you're thinking." The woman's cold statement broke the silence.

"Is that so?" Sparkling justice raised an eyebrow.

"I get I'm not the toughest person out there but believe me when I say this… I want this more than anyone. Do not underestimate me."

The women glared a hole straight through him. He wasn't sure why, but he felt so horribly uneasy around her. He was in charge here, yet he felt like he was being crushed under the weight of her gaze.

Perhaps that was just the way he felt around someone older than him; an authority figure. After all, if it was still the old world, he would be answering to people like her.

_"Hey, _ come on the kids are getting restless! We've got to head out now, or we're going to have a riot on our hands!"_

He became lost in these warm memories.

"Are you listening to me!? This is serious, _! HEY! Home to _, are you still with me? Oh jeez, don't tell me you're going to leave me here!? Just how many times are you going to leave me to die? Why do you keep letting me get hurt, you piece of shit! You really are terrible; you should have died! You should have died with us!"

_, awoke from his delusions gasping for breath.

"You okay?" Akira asked perplexed by his sudden spasms.

"WHO DO YOU WANT!?" _ shouted in reply.

The woman looked at the ground possibly recalling her own dark trauma's, but he didn't have time for pity. "NOW! Come on!"

"Kazuichi Soda. **I need him.**" Akira stated clearly and confidently, unperturbed by _'s sudden change in behaviour.

_ reached into his pocket with shaky hands until he felt a scrap piece of paper scratch his fingertips. He tossed it from his jacket's pocket toward the women, she quickly caught it before the wind did.

"M-M-Meet there. Paper has the details. Now go!"

Akira was gone as quickly as she came. She sauntered off with a firm grip on the piece of paper. She got what she came for, so there was nothing else to discuss.

_ knelt on the ground and faced the wall. He reached for his flask but remembered it had run dry long ago. He placed his forehead on the bricks and took deep breaths.

"**Black, blue, red, silver, bald, blonde… Black, blue, red, silver, bald, blonde."** _ repeated the mantra again and again, just as he was taught. Eventually, he would stop shaking, his breathing would come under control, and the dead would stop shouting so loud.

_ sat his back against the brick and looked absently off into the distance. The orange hue of the streetlamp on **their** island still haunted him, taunted him. The proof that light could still exist within their lives was a thought that disturbed him so intensely that it made him sick.

'It's only a matter of time…' Next to the fishing **hooks and pliers**, Sparkling Justice pulled a polaroid from a hidden compartment within his jacket. It was faded and had water damage around its right corner, making the picture devolve into a cacophony of colours. But that wasn't important. What was, were the faces within it. Five of them, including his own.

Steph was a bundle of energy who had a habit of getting into trouble. She was smiling and holding up the peace sign on the left side of the picture. Going across; Jeremy was next and being his typical self: chugging a pint while flipping the bird at the camera. Emma, a shy girl who would usually prefer a good book over a good beer, was forced to come out that night. Worst yet, she lost a bet with Steph and had to join them while wearing a maid outfit. She could be seen in the middle of the picture shouting at the cameraman to not take the photo. Robin was next. They were in a fit of laughter, leaning back on the wooden stool and pointing at Steph. Finally; _ was on the right side. A contented smile, staring at these bunch of weirdos he decided to go overseas with. His beer was raised in one hand with his other keeping Robin from falling straight out of their chair.

These five friends. They were family to him. They meant everything to him and yet…

**IT**

**ALL**

**MEANT**

**NOTHING**

Jeremy was the first to go. He was impaled on a rusty railroad spike while they were escaping the cities.

Emma got cut on the railroad spike while she tried to free Jeremy. She later died from the infection.

Robin committed suicide when they learned Emma wasn't getting any better.

Steph managed to escape with _. It was the two of them for a while until they found a group to join. It didn't work out. She was shot in the head.

**Relationships.**

**Fights.**

**Feelings.**

**Dreams.**

**Experiences.**

Nothing mattered. It was gone.

He was alone in the world with no one to care for and no one to care for him.

'Everyone… I promise.' He placed the picture to his forehead. 'I'll let you rest in peace, even if it's the last thing I do. Please… keep waiting for me. Just for a little longer.'


	22. Smile

Hey everyone! I'm really sorry to do this to the people that read my stuff on FFnet but I'm discontinuing the story here. If you want to read this new chapter head over to my AO3. Explanation below...

I'm using images more and more, the occasional hyperlink and plan to use other tools that aren't available here. Unfortunately, the reality of FFnet is that it's very restrictive and it can be quite a pain to edit chapters. Because of that, I've been neglecting to do follow up edits here. I'm sorry about that.

I'm really really sorry about all of this. If FFnet got a sudden massive update and it wasn't as restrictive then I would have no problem uploading here, but I don't think it's been changed significantly in years. So I don't have my hopes up.

If you want to continue reading head to my A03 page. I use the same username and story name there. I would link it but well... yeah I'm sure you get my point already.

With all this said, if you really do prefer to read on FFnet instead and want me to continue posting here, then please let me know. Send me PM or a message on discord at Toffee Pop#1670. I promise I don't bite.

I'm really sorry again... and I hope you stick with me.


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